Naruto Unchained
by voider
Summary: Kyuubi gets tired of healing Naruto and decides to make a deal with him. She will become his teacher and Naruto will make her sentence more pleasant. Harem: NarutoXFemKyuubiXHinataXAnkoXFemHaku
1. Chapter 1 Meeting

**Naruto - Unchained.**

**Summary**: Kyuubi gets tired of healing Naruto and decides to make a deal with him. She will become his teacher and Naruto will make her sentence more pleasant.

**Pairings**: NarutoXFemKyuubiXHinataXAnkoXFemHaku

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto.

**Author Notes**: Due to Kyuubi's teachings, Naruto will change from the dumb smiling kid we know. He will lose his dream and gain another.

'blah' talking on a mental link.

"blah" speaking.

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 1. Meeting.**

**-x-x-x-**

"You fail!" The verdict kept repeating over and over. Again, I failed again, thought Naruto bitterly. No matter how hard I train, I always fail.

The boy - Naruto, entered his so called home. It was not much; it was really not his fault. He had tried to care for his apartment, but villagers always broke in and messed it up. So he gave up. He gave up the same way he gave up on being able to buy food, equipment, clothes and other things. Naruto didn't consider himself a genius, but it was clear that he was only able to buy low quality, overpriced goods. It was clear that people were out to get him.

"I won't give up, I'll ..." Naruto's words were silenced by a kunai in his heart.

"Die, demon!" snarled the assassin.

Why, wondered the boy, why am I hated? Why do these things happen to me? His questions were interrupted by darkness.

**-x-x-x-**

Naruto woke up in a dark sewage. What is this place, he wondered. Hearing something in front of him, the boy walked towards it. He stopped in front of some huge bars that had the kanji for seal on them. Naruto looked up at two giant red orbs of fire that opened. Those are eyes, he thought, they're so big.

A giant fox head lowered towards him

"Greetings, kit," it said in a surprisingly feminine voice.

"Um, hi?" Naruto chewed his lower lip in confusion. "What is this place?"

"This is going to take some time, kit. Since you managed to come here, I think I should explain everything."

"Okay."

"First, I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune ..."

"What?" he shouted in surprise.

"Shut up and listen, kit," she snarled, making Naruto gulp in fear. "You were told that the Yondaime killed me, but no mortal is able to kill a demon. Instead, he sealed me inside a new-born baby - you. This is why the villagers hate you. They look at the prison and see the prisoner."

"So this is why they hate me?" he asked in a depressed voice.

"Kit, pull yourself together," said the fox in an annoyed tone. "I will not have an angsty, whiny brat as my container, do you understand?"

"Yes," gulped Naruto.

"You are not guilty of my mistakes. Is that understood? The Yondaime actually wanted you to be seen as a hero for keeping me sealed."

"Me, a hero?"

"Yes, foolish of him."

Naruto lowered his head in disappointment.

"Don't bow your head, kit. I did not mean that you are not worthy of being a hero. I am saying that it was foolish of the Fourth to have faith in the village. Immediately after I was sealed, the council voted in favor of killing you. Thanks to the Third, you were spared. Since that day, there were numerous attempts on your life. You do not remember most of them. At first, they tried poison, but due to my presence, it was not a problem. Then they sent assassins, but they were stopped in time. And then, there were the beatings from the villagers. I am at the end of my ropes, kit. I am sick and tired of healing your broken, malnourished body over and over again."

Naruto nodded dumbly. "Why are you helping me?"

"If you die, I die."

"You said that no mortal can kill you," said Naruto suspiciously.

"Ah, yes. If you are killed, I will ... disappear from this ... world. I'd rather stay here imprisoned than go back."

"Back where?"

"It doesn't matter, kit. It is enough if you understand that I want you to be as healthy and strong as possible."

"Okay."

"I am willing to make a deal with you. I will teach you to the best of my abilities. I will willingly give you part of my power. I will help you accomplish your dreams. All I want in exchange are some creature comforts in this dank cell. I am also able to experience what you feel, through your senses; that is, if you allow it. I want to experience the world outside once in a while and I want to be indulged from time to time."

"I'm not going to kill for you," shouted Naruto horrified.

"Foolish kit, what need do I have for blood? Are you as foolish as those villagers? I am talking about food, relaxing, a massage or something, running through the forest ... simple ... pleasures of the flesh, maybe reading a nice book. As it is now, I am dieing of boredom. What few things I can perceive through your senses is quite unpleasant. You did not have a nice life. I want you to allow opening the connection between us more. This way, I will be able to perfectly feel what you feel. Just think about it. You do not need to decide now."

"Okay, I'll think about it. But first, I have some questions." Naruto thought that what she asked was not too much. He was actually surprised she didn't ask for more.

"Go ahead, kit. Ask me anything. I may not answer some questions, but I promise you this - I will never lie to you."

"Why did you attack the village?"

"Actually, they attacked first. I was in a long sleep and they attacked me while sleeping. I retaliated in kind."

"But did you have to keep it up? From what I know from the academy, you had days until you reached the village. Why did you continue the attack?"

"Foolish kit, I am a great demon. They dared to attack me in my den. I only retaliated. As you said, they knew I was coming here. They had enough time to flee. Had they done that, I would have done a little property damage and left. But they dared to attack me again. Do you think I needed days to travel to Konoha? I could have done it in hours. Greater Daemons are supposed to be viewed as natural disasters, but they dared to stand in my way ... and I was foolish and got myself in this situation."

Naruto thought for a while, thinking carefully over Kyuubi's words. If what she says is true, then she is not as bad as I thought. True, she is not a paradigm of innocence, but she is one of the few people to treat me with kindness. And she appears not to lie, unlike the old man.

"You said that the village council tried to kill you and that people tried to kill me. How do you know that?"

"I can experience what you experience, though it is very faint. That is why I said I wanted the connection between us to be more powerful. I'll be able to fully feel what you feel. And I'll be able to talk to you while you are awake.

"If I accept this ... bargain, how can I be sure you will not betray me somehow?"

"That's a good question. You may not know it, but if a daemon swears something, he can not go back on his word."

"Again," he said suspiciously, "what guarantee do I have? You could be lying."

"You will just have to take my word for it. I am afraid I have no way to prove it, kit."

"Fair enough," Naruto sighed. "I suppose I'll have to accept this. What about our deal? What do we each get from it? You said you would teach me. Do you know any cool jutsu?" he asked excitedly.

"I know many things, but human jutsu is not amongst them. I have never needed it..."

Naruto looked crestfallen.

"Don't worry kit. I only said I am unfamiliar with human jutsu. I am not without knowledge. I actually know one ... it is very useful, actually. It will prove invaluable in our training."

Naruto's eyes begun to shine. "What ..."

"I'll teach it to you later," she cut him. "There are other things more important. Tell me Naruto, How well can you read?"

Naruto reddened and looked down shamefaced. "I'm not that good."

"Don't worry; this is the first thing we will correct. You should have learned by now, but your teachers tried to sabotage you. It's a wonder you are not even more of a babbling idiot."

"Hey ..." At the glare he received from the Kyuubi, he sighed. "You're right. I'm not the smartest person around."

"That's because they didn't educate you. Don't worry; I will correct your deficiencies. I intend to have a strong, intelligent container."

"Thanks, Kyuubi-san."

"Don't mention it, kit. Even though I am not familiar to human jutsu, I understand the theory quite well. You could say that I am as knowledgeable as the Hokage. And I'll be your private instructor."

Naruto beamed in happiness. I'll finally have someone to teach me, he thought.

"I will freely share part of my power and I'll help you fulfill your dreams. I will protect you to the best of my abilities and I won't do anything to harm your friends. What I ask in return is rather minor for you to give. As I said, since this is your mind, I want you to ... redecorate this place in a suitable manner. A sewer is not my idea of a home. I also want you to let me access your senses more and I want you to indulge me from time to time. As I said, nothing harmful, just pleasures of the flesh and mind."

Naruto nodded. "Okay."

"Another thing; if you accept this deal, it is possible that you will receive some of my demonic traits."

"What traits?" he asked cautiously.

"Nothing too major: increased physical and mental abilities; enhanced senses. Also, it is possible that your appearance will change slightly."

"How?"

"I am not sure; you'll probably have claws, longer canines, red eyes, fox tail and ears."

"But won't people hate me more if my appearance changes?"

"They'll hate you no matter what. Think about the Inuzuka. They grow fangs and claws too. Is there anything wrong about it? Are they evil because of it?"

"No, of course not."

"Are you going to become a bloodthirsty monster just because of a few physical changes?"

"No. But they'll think ..."

"Who cares what they think," interrupted Kyuubi. "Should you really care what small-minded, bigoted people think?"

"No, but..."

"If you saw a child with claws, fangs and a tail, would you consider him a monster? Or would you treat him normally." Kyuubi left Naruto think for a few moments before continuing. "You see ... one day you'll find someone that will see you for yourself, that person will truly be your friend. They'll care for you even if you are different."

Naruto nodded thoughtfully. She's right, he thought. Why should I care what those bastards think?

"So, you accept?"

"Yes."

"Very well, we have a deal. One more thing ... I would suggest keeping this secret as much as possible, even from the Hokage. Tell him as little as possible."

"Why is that, Kyuubi-san?"

"He is the Hokage. I believe he has your best interest at heart, but his duty to the village comes first. If he thinks you are a danger because of me... I do not know what he will do."

"Okay, I'll trust you on this, Kyuubi-san. But if I change physically, he'll know something happened."

"Yes, eventually he'll figure it out, but not now. It will take some time until the change takes place. When that happens, tell him you met me and that you received the changes so that your body would be harder to harm."

Naruto nodded.

"When you wake up, if you want to talk to me, do not talk out loud. I will hear what you are thinking. If the villagers find out you are talking to me, who knows what they'll do."

Naruto nodded again. He finally observed red chakra flowing towards him, through the water. "What's this?"

"Our deal, kit. I am giving you a bit of my power and you are opening your senses to me. Beside an increase in your physical abilities and chakra capacity, your senses will be a few times better. We're about done here. It's time to wake up."

**-x-x-x-**

Naruto opened his eyes. Sitting in a chair beside the bet, the Hokage was looking tired.

"How long, old man?"

"Three days, Naruto. I'm sorry."

"You said the same thing last time."

"If there were something I could do, I would."

'Kit, I have an idea...'

Naruto looked blankly at the wall for a minute, listening to Kyuubi while ignoring the Hokage. "Maybe there is," Naruto finally said.

"Oh?"

"Did my mom have a house?"

"Why do you ask Naruto?"

"I want a house. I want a home where I can make sure I won't be killed by assassins. It doesn't matter if it's half-collapsed. I just want a place for myself."

Sarutobi thought for a few seconds. I should have done this sooner, he thought. This is the least I could do. "She did not, but if you want a house, it can be arranged. There is a property. It's a little out of the way and nobody lived there for more than twenty years. You'll have to work a bit if you want it livable."

"Thanks, old man."

"Anything else?"

"No."

"Very well, Naruto. Wait a bit. I'll be back in fifteen minutes."

-x-x-x-

Half an hour later, they were in front of a house in the middle of the forest.

"The property is quite large. You even have a small lake. The house is not in such a good condition..."

"Don't worry. It is perfect." interrupted Naruto. "Thanks, old man," said Naruto happily.

The Hokage pulled a scroll and gave it to Naruto. "Here, sign this."

Naruto signed and started to give it back.

Sarutobi shook his head. "No. It's yours now. The scroll represents the deed for the house and property." He then gave a bag to Naruto. "This is for the house. Repairing the house won't be cheap. Come to my office if you need anything else," said the old man to the shocked Naruto before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

'Well, this went well,' said Kyuubi. 'We have a house and money. Let's go shopping.'

Shopping, he thought depressed.

'I know you don't like it. And I know why. That is why you'll transform into someone else. This way, they won't overprice us or give up bad goods.'

'Huh, why didn't I do this until now? You're the best Kyuubi-san.'

'I know. Now, let's go.'

Naruto transformed into a nondescript brown-haired boy and went to one of the better shinobi store.

**-x-x-x-**

"Oh, hello, how may I help you?" asked the store owner.

He's so polite, thought Naruto as he entered the store. Last time I came here, he threw me out. "I want some clothes and equipment."

Naruto wandered through the store, letting Kyuubi check the clothes.

Finally, Kyuubi decided on a black ANBU uniform. 'This is the best, kit. It's comfortable, gives good protection and it would look good on you.'

Nodding, Naruto dressed in one of the uniforms, and took three more spares.

'We'll need a mask,' said Kyuubi. Looking in the masks sections, Naruto's eyes fixed on a black mask. Unlike most ANBU masks that depicted an animal, this one was a blank human face. It did not have an smiling expression, nor a frowning one. It was just blank. 'This one, kit.'

Naruto put the mask to his face, but he din not have any way to make the mask stay on his face. There was no clasp; nothing.

'Channel some chakra into it,' said Kyuubi.

Naruto did so and the mask suddenly stayed put; it was as if it was glued to his face. Opening his eyes, Naruto smiled. 'Wow, I can see through it as if it is transparent.'

'Of course, kit. If they weren't, ANBU masks would deteriorate vision. If that were so, nobody would wear them. Since they are transparent, they do not impede vision; they make you anonymous and give a small measure of protection.'

After taking some shuriken and kunai, Naruto paid and left back to his new home.

'I paid half of what I would have paid if I were in my true form.'

'Yes kit. And you have always bought low quality for premium prices. Well this stops now. I won't let them take advantage of us again.'

'Thank you, Kyuubi-chan.'

'You're welcome, kit,' she responded in a gentle tone.

**-x-x-x-**

Back at his home, Naruto, in his black uniform was inspecting the house. "Kyuubi-chan, this is going to be a nightmare. It'll take weeks to repair the house."

'No it won't. It's time for me to teach you the technique I told you about.'

'Really? What is it?' asked Naruto excitedly.

'Shadow Clone Technique.'

'Shadow Clone? I'm not that good at clones,' said Naruto in a disappointed tone.

'Of course you aren't. You have too much chakra and too little control. The reason you can't do a normal clone is that it requires so little chakra, so that with your flimsy control, it's impossible. However, the Shadow Clone Technique is within your capabilities. It requires a large amount of chakra, so you should be able to do it. Unlike the regular Clone, a Shadow Clone can fight and think for itself. It's not just an illusion, it creates real clones. The power and chakra is evenly divided among the clones. However it will dissipate at one hit.'

One hour later, under Kyuubi's tutelage, Naruto managed to make a Shadow Clone.

'Very good kit. Now, tell your clone to scout our surroundings, and then dispel it after five minutes.'

'Done,' said Naruto.

'Well?'

'What?' he asked.

'What is strange about this technique? What did your clone learn?'

'He scouted around ...'

'And how do you know that?'

'I remember ...'

'You remember what?' prompted Kyuubi.

'I remember what it did ... but how do I know that. I was here ...'

'Very good, kit. You see, when one of your shadow cloned is dispelled, the memories, skills and knowledge it gathered return to you. Do you know what this means?'

'What?'

'It means you can make multiple shadow clones and put them to practice, learn or work. Whatever they learn, you'll know. It's the perfect method for training.'

'Cool, you're the best Kyuubi-chan.'

'I know, kit. Now, make some clones.'

About fifty shadow clones poofed into existence.

'Give one of the clones some money and tell it to buy some food. And by food, I mean healthy food, not ramen. Is that understood? The rest of them, tell them to clean the house.'

Naruto did as he was told. 'And me?'

'You, start on physical training.'

**-x-x-x-**

The next day, Naruto woke up refreshed. He created two shadow clones to make breakfast while he took a shower.

'So, what's the plan for today?' asked Naruto after he finished eating his first healthy breakfast.

'Make fifty clones. Send forty clones to the public library. Have them transform into someone else. For the next ten days, their job is to improve your reading skills. Since no one will recognize them, they won't be thrown out, like they usually do when you go there. The other ten are to transform into shinobi and enter the genin library. They are to find some exercises for chakra control.'

'And what do I do?'

'What do you think? Physical exercises until you are exhausted.'

Naruto trained for a few hours, ate and trained some more.

'That's enough, kit. Dispel your clones ...'

A wave of knowledge rushed into Naruto's brain. Finally, blessed unconsciousness came.'

**-x-x-x-**

The next day...

'What was that?' groaned Naruto.

'That, kit was too much information. You'll get used to it. If you were a normal human, the influx of information would have melted your brain.'

'Melted ... my brain?' he asked weakly.

'Yes, but we share a mental link. The information you gather from your clones ... I see it too. Thanks to my awesome mind and the power I gave you, I can sort that information in no time and without harming you.'

'My head is killing me.'

'I need to practice more, that's all. Sorting the memories of a few dozen is not as easy as you think.'

'Okay, so what do I do today?'

'Make as many clones as you can.'

"Shadow Clone Technique." Three hundred clones appeared in puffs of smoke.

'Forty clones to the public library. Ten clones to the genin library; have them poke around. The rest 250, have them try that tree-walking exercise. You get a shower and then eat. After that, physical training.'

At the end of the day, Naruto dispelled the clones that were training. He barely felt the backlash. 'Kyuubi-chan?'

'Since the information we got now is more about ... a skill and instinct ... and not about knowledge, it is much easier to sort. Now, try to climb a tree.'

Naruto walked to a tree and walked horizontally on its trunk. He walked up and down without falling. 'Wow, my clones barely managed to walk halfway and I can walk perfectly.'

'Yes, their partial skill combined into a collective ... average skill.'

'There is something I don't understand Kyuubi-chan. I made 250 clones. They managed to climb half-way. But aren't they the same? Since they all performed the same exercise, shouldn't they gain the exact same skill? I mean if the skill gained by a clone is the same one that was gained by the rest, shouldn't the combined skill be the same as the skill of any clone?'

'Ah, that is a good question, kit. You see, when the clones are formed, they are all the same. However, each of them trains on a different tree. They think in a similar manner at first, but as time passes, they become more and more different. The mind is a very complicated thing. One very small change can alter our way of thinking in a huge way. It's called the butterfly effect.'

'Okay, I kind of understand. Each clone learns different things and when they are dispelled, we combine them.'

'Yes, also, do you know how you learn a skill like tree walking? Let's put it this way - You gather a lot of data. About how much chakra you use and the way you use it in a certain case. Our mind takes all that data and creates rules. It is like a mathematic equation. The more data you have, the better. That is why it doesn't really matter if you are doing the same exercise. Do you understand?'

'I think I do.'

'Good, now let's eat before dispelling the clones from the libraries.'

**-x-x-x-**

'What are we going to do today, Kyuubi-chan?' asked Naruto after he created 300 clones.

'Fifty clones to the library, one hundred clones for the tree walking exercise, the rest will do the water walking exercise. And you ...'

'Yes I know. Physical exercises.'

**-x-x-x-**

'What are we going to do today, Kyuubi-chan?' asked Naruto after he created 300 clones.

'Fifty clones to the library, fifty clones for the tree walking exercise, fifty clones for the water walking exercise and the rest will do the leaf floating exercise. And you ...'

**-x-x-x-**

'What are we going to do today, Kyuubi-chan?' asked Naruto after he created 300 clones.

'Fifty clones to the library. The rest, chakra training.'

'But I can already do that, Kyuubi-chan'

'Yes I know, kit. However, your chakra control still needs work. After you mastered these three exercises perfectly, we'll do something a little harder.'

**-x-x-x- **

One week later, Kyuubi pronounced Naruto as average on his reading skills.

'Create four hundred clones, kit.'

Naruto did as he was told and awaited further instructions.

'Now, fifty clones to the public library.'

'Again,' he wined. 'I thought I was done with that.'

'You thought wrong, kit. Now, as I was saying, fifty clones to the public library. They are to read books that would help us if we wanted to take a job. For example, books on cooking, constructions, hunting or any other job you can possibly think about.'

'Okay.'

'Fifty clones are to go to the genin library. They are to start reading. They'll start with the academy textbooks and the basics. The rest of the clones are to continue on their chakra control. However this time we'll have a different exercise.'

Naruto nodded with determination.

'The first group will run from tree to tree, using their feet or hands to stick to the trees. At the same time, they are to do the leaf exercise. The second group is to run on the lake on their feet and hands while doing the leaf exercise. The third group is to use their chakra control to swim through the lake, without moving their hands and feet.

**-x-x-x-**

One week later.

'Okay kit, today I am going to teach you a new technique: Solid Shadow Clone. With this, you'll be able to make a clone that can absorb a little damage. It is much more resistant than the normal Shadow Clone, but it consumes more chakra.'

'Cool. Uh, Kyuubi-chan? I wanted to ask you ... why do you know this technique?'

'Well, you know about summoning, don't you?'

'Yes?' he responded perplexed.

'Well, when you summon something, you give your chakra to make a shadow clone from the summoned animal. He provides the consciousness, but you provide the chakra. Similar to a Solid Clone, a summoning can take a bit of damage, depending on how much chakra you pushed in the clone or summoning.'

'I see. But why are you teaching me this now?'

'Two reasons. First, it's good for combat. Second, I want you to create a few solid clones, transform them and get them to take a job.'

'Job? What kind of job?'

'Any job. Many jobs.'

'Why?'

'First reason - to earn money, we aren't exactly rich. Second reason - to gain civilian skills. And third - to gather information; they'll find out things; things that may be common knowledge, but we don't know; things that are known by relatively few people; or secrets known by only a few.

**-x-x-x-**

Author Notes: So, did you like it?

_**Please review and tell me what you think.**_

Published November 5 2008

-voider-

-x-x-x-


	2. Chapter 2 Love

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 2. Love.**

**-x-x-x-**

One week after Naruto learned the Solid Clone Technique, Kyuubi decided that it was finally time for Naruto to start working.

'Create one thousand Shadow clones.' Kyuubi waited for the puffs of smoke to disappear. 'Good, now 300 will do chakra exercises. We'll add something harder ... have them use their whole bodies for it.'

'What do you mean, Kyuubi-chan?'

'For example, instead of water walking using your feet and hands, do it using only the fingertips or even only one finger. Also, try to use the same technique using other parts of the body: like floating on your back or knees. The same thing for the tree walking exercise - use other parts of your body to stick to the tree.'

Naruto nodded in determination.

'Next, 200 clones are to start practicing throwing kunai and shuriken. Do that while standing in one place and while moving and running. When you are in a fight, you can't afford to take aim carefully. You must be ready to throw them while moving. Later, after you become proficient in this skill, we'll use clones to practice against each other.'

'I understand.'

'Next, 100 clones are to go to the libraries. Read anything of interest. I want you to pay special attention to anything about the human anatomy and medical scrolls.'

'Okay, what about the rest?'

'They are to practice Transformation, Replacement, normal clones and Shadow Clone techniques.'

'But I already know them.'

'I know, kit. But I want you to master them completely. I want you to be able to do them silently, without using seals, without making puffs of smoke and without wasting any chakra. Now, tell me what advantages you'll get from this.'

Naruto thought for a few moments. 'If I master a technique completely, I'll use less chakra, I'll be able to do it faster and it'll be more powerful. This means I'll be able to do more techniques in battle. Mastering the Transformation Technique will help me in infiltration missions. Mastering Replacement Technique would help a lot in battle. If I am in danger or I can't use my hands to use seals, I'll be able to escape. Mastering the Clones techniques will allow me to make more clones and I'll be able to take my enemies by surprise if there are no puffs of smoke to give them away.'

'Very good, kit. Next, you'll create one hundred solid clones. Their mission is to get a job. They will transform into different people, male and female and get any job they can find. Remember, this is an infiltration mission. That means you will not reveal your true identity. You will construct a ... persona and delve into it. That means you not start spewing what you're thinking. You'll learn to keep your mouth shut. That especially means that you will under no circumstance start bragging about being the next Hokage or telling them your true identity. Is that understood?'

'Yes, Kyuubi-chan.'

**-x-x-x-**

The next day, Naruto sent his thousand clones to their practice.

'Let's see what we have with our jobs,' said Kyuubi.

'I have three clones that were hired as hunters. I have another three that work as medicinal herbs gatherers. Five are working on a farm. Ten are working on a construction site. Four are working as janitors. One is working at the onsen. Three are working as waitresses, six on some stores, nine that are actually working as apprentices and another nine are doing some odd jobs. In total, that makes fifty-three jobs.'

'I must say I am impressed, kit.'

'Well, it wasn't that hard. It's easy to get a job if you aren't hated and willing to work long hours on lower pay.'

**-x-x-x-**

Naruko - one of Naruto's female persona's, was hired at the onsen. Since her boss found out she had a great deal of medical knowledge, at least in theory, the boss decided to train her in the art of massage. Naruko gladly accepted. She made a mental note for the library clones to search for books on the subject the next day. She hit the jackpot; they found quite a few books and scrolls, some of them very good. Naruto had practiced at home, by creating a few hundred clones; separating them in two and having them practice on each other. Needless to say, Naruko gathered a few years of experience in only a few days. Coupled to the increasing theoretical knowledge from the clones that visited the library, (or the geeks as Kyuubi called them) and the advice from her boss, Naruko became one of the best masseurs in only a few days.

Naruko walked in her private room to see that her next client was Hinata. "Oh, hi Hinata-chan." Hinata was Naruko's very first customer. She was also one of the few children that had been kind to Naruto at the academy. She was a shy girl, but very kind and sweet. Naruto liked her. The only thing that bothered Naruto (and Naruko) was that Hinata was even shyer around him than other people. Strangely, the girl behaved around Naruko the masseur, the same way she behaved around Naruto.

"Hi ... Na-Naruko-k-chan," she stammered.

Naruko wondered if there was any way for Hinata to get over her shyness, stammering and lack of confidence. Naruko vowed to herself that she would find a way to help Hinata. When the new year of academy would start, Naruto would be placed in the same class with Hinata. Perhaps Naruto could befriend the girl and help her. "How was your training?"

"F-Fine."

Since the first time Naruko gave Hinata a massage, Hinata would come to the onsen every day and get a massage from Naruko. "Come, Hinata-chan. Hop on the table," said Naruko smiling kindly.

"Yes." Hinata nodded and disrobed while blushing furiously.

Naruko could not help herself to check-out the girl. Even if she was a year younger and a little short, her breasts were well developed. Naruko concentrated on remaining professional. It was not hard even if the geeks read those books about the human reproductive system and "the talk" in a book. She had worked around naked girls for a few days and she learned to not blush or give herself away. Naruko proceeded in doing her job, making Hinata sigh in contentment. Ten minutes later, Naruko suddenly stopped. "Say, Hinata-chan ... I've been reading on a new type of massage. Since you are my most faithful customer, would you like to be my first?"

"Sure Naruko-chan, I'd like that." Hinata was so relaxed that she didn't stutter even once.

Naruko smiled, gathered chakra in her hands, making them glow a pale pink and continued to massage Hinata's back. Hinata begun to breathe faster. "Are you all right, Hinata-chan? Do you want me to stop?"

"No! Don't stop. Continue ... Please."

Naruko shrugged. She must really like it, she thought. Finishing with the back, Naruko proceeded in massaging the legs.

When Naruko reached the girl's thighs, Hinata's whole body tensed for a few seconds and she shuddered before she relaxed completely.

"Hinata-chan, are you feeling fine?"

"I feel great, Naruko-chan," she replied with a lazy smile. "Thank you. You were great."

Naruko shrugged mentally. It seems that this new technique was successful. Hinata looked very relaxed. I have to show this to Kyuubi-chan. She really likes my massages.

**-x-x-x-**

After dispelling the clones, Naruto promptly fell asleep. He woke up in his mental landscape. It had changed drastically. No longer was he surrounded by the darkness of a sewer. Instead, Naruto found himself in a forest. He walked into a clearing and saw a house. It was Kyuubi's prison and it had the same seal on the door that he saw the first time he met Kyuubi. He entered through the door as if it was insubstantial and headed for the bedroom. He walked in to see a sleeping dark-red headed girl. She had both human and foxy ears. Naruto walked and sat on the edge of the bed and smiled as one of her nine tails caressed his face. Naruto touched the tail and started to pet it.

"Hello kit. I didn't expect you here today," she said five minutes later, rubbing her eyes from sleep.

"I know. I'm here to give you a massage." After their first meeting, Kyuubi changed in her human form. After Naruto started to give massages at the onsen, he begun to give them to Kyuubi as well. He did that every time he entered the mental landscape.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, Hinata seamed to really like my technique. I thought you might like to try it."

"Kit, you really have a huge blind spot when it comes to girls. And you even read all about it. It looks like you need some ... practical ... lessons," she said with a strange smile.

"What do you mean?"

"I'll explain later." Kyuubi disrobed and motioned Naruto to start.

Naruto smiled and ran his hands through Kyuubi's tails. He then started to rub her back, and Kyuubi smiled in contentment. Naruto begun to channel chakra in his hands. "How does it feel?" he asked.

"It feels great," she responded, struggling to keep her body under control. In only a few minutes, she shuddered and moaned her release. Unlike Hinata who had her panties and a towel on her rear, Kyuubi was completely naked.

"Um, wh-what did just happened?" he stammered. Naruto had tried to block it from his mind, but even he realized that his ministrations resulted in something.

"That, my dear Naruto-kun," she said in a husky tone, "was an orgasm."

"Orgasm?" he squeaked.

"Yes." Turning around, Kyuubi grasped Naruto's shoulders and pulled him to her and gave him a long kiss. Naruto had a frozen expression on his face. Kyuubi smiled softly and hugged him tighter as she burrowed his head between her breasts.

"You mean, like in "The Talk" orgasm?"

"Yes."

"This means we ... and me and Hinata," he said horrified. "How can I be so stupid? I'm really sorry."

"Sorry for what? I really enjoyed it. And I'm sure Hinata enjoyed it as much as I did." Kyuubi rubbed his back, trying to comfort him. Kyuubi grasped his chin and gave him another long kiss. They rolled over and she smiled seductively. She started disrobing him.

"Wait. We can't."

"Why?"

"I'm thirteen."

"So what?"

"Aren't I too young?"

Kyuubi pushed her hands inside his boxers. "It seems you aren't," she grinned.

"But..."

"No buts, Naruto-kun. You gave me pleasure, now it's my time to return the favor..."

**-x-x-x-**

The next day, a smiling Naruto woke up. He and Kyuubi had "returned the favor" for hours. Naruto was grinning so much, that he felt that nothing could dampen his spirits. For the first time he was happy. He had a good teacher, a person he ... cared for. Unlike the fake smile he put around the villagers and even the Hokage to hide his true feelings, Naruto truly felt happy, from the bottom of his soul.

He walked in the bathroom and froze in front of the mirror. His once blue eyes had turned into red slitted ones.

'Are you okay Naruto-kun?' asked Kyuubi worriedly.

'Yes. I'm fine.'

'You're not upset?'

'No, why should I be?'

'Your eyes ...'

'Are beautiful, they are the same as yours and I really like them.'

'Really?' she asked surprised. 'I thought you'd be upset.'

'A few weeks ago, I would have been. But now, I am glad for them, because they are your eyes.'

'If you keep this up Naruto-kun, I'll start blushing.'

'After what we did last night, I don't think there is anything that can make you, (or me for that matter), blush.'

'Is that so? Well I am sure I'll find something,' teased Kyuubi.

**-x-x-x-**

As Kyuubi promised, Kyuubi found something to tease him with. That was Icha Icha Paradise. Naruto was staying under a tree, reading the perverted book. Kyuubi was commenting on the book and the clones were training.

'There's someone spying on us.'

'Yes, it's Hinata,' said Kyuubi.

'Hinata? How? I mean this isn't the first time she spied on me ...'

'At least you figured that much. Tell me kit; do you know why she is spying on you?'

'Um, I have no idea.'

'Foolish kit, must I spell everything to you? She likes you. Maybe it's even love.'

'Really? Huh ... it actually makes sense,' said Naruto thoughtfully, thinking back on past encounters.

'So, what do you think about her?'

'What do you mean?'

'I mean, do you like the girl?'

Naruto thought for a few seconds. 'It doesn't matter,' he finally said. 'I already have you.'

'So what?'

'What do you mean so what? You're my ... girlfriend, right?'

'Hmm, I guess I am kit. But what does this have to do with Hinata?'

'You're my girlfriend. I'm not going to cheat on you.'

'Foolish kit,' she laughed amused. 'I am not a human. I do not have human morals. I do not mind taking other mates. After all, you are my container. We deserve the best. I actually want more mates. And Hinata would be a good choice.'

'Really? So you're telling me to ...'

'Yes, but only if you like her.'

'Well, she's nice and kind and really cute. She was always nice to me. She's really smart. And she and Naruko got to be good friends and got to know her a bit. I guess I kind of like her.'

'I am pleased. We may have a new mate.'

'Uh, Kyuubi, I think we are getting ahead of ourselves. I mean is she here for me? I haven't shown my face outside the house, I always wear my mask, so I don't really think she knows it's me.'

'Perhaps, but perhaps not. Tell me kit, what bloodline limit does she have?'

'The Byakugan,' answered Naruto.

'Yes. And what are its powers?'

'It sees on a 360 angle, it can see through solid objects and it can see chakra... oh, I see. If she can see chakra, then she knows who I am. My chakra is like my fingerprint. She doesn't need to see my face to know who I am.'

'Very good. What about the clones?' asked Kyuubi.

'Clones? Oh shit! My clones have my chakra signature. She might know who my clones are. More important, she might know Naruko is my clone.'

'Very good, kit. Now think about your meetings at the onsen. Even you realized she behaves around Naruko the same way she behaved around you.'

'Does this mean she knows I was giving her massages? That I saw her naked? And she still came back?'

'Not many girls would let a boy do what you did. It must mean she really likes you. I think we just got lucky, kit,' Kyuubi said happily. 'I have a plan.'

A few minutes later, Kyuubi finished.

Naruto put the book on the ground and got to his feet. "Come out Hinata. I know you're here."

Hinata came from behind a tree. "Na-Naruto-kun."

"So you know."

Hinata nodded.

"I suppose you know about my clones?"

Another nod.

"And about Naruko?"

Hinata froze for a second, and then nodded again. "I-I knew s-she was y-you," she stuttered. "S-she had y-your chakra."

Naruto took his mask off, making Hinata's eyes to widen at the red slitted eyes.

Hinata took a step back before stealing herself. "Naruto-kun is not the Kyuubi," she whispered to herself.

A normal person would not have heard Hinata's words. Naruto however, had increased senses thanks to Kyuubi. "You know about the Kyuubi?"

Hinata whole body froze. "Y-Yes."

"How?"

"The Kyuubi was not killed, but sealed inside you. There is a law given by the Hokage. It is forbidden to talk about the truth with anyone that doesn't know. This is why none of our current generation knows the truth. But the villagers talk with each other, in private. I got curious. I wanted to know why they were so mean to you. I activated my Byakugan and saw them talking. I read their lips." Surprisingly, Hinata didn't stutter even once.

"So you're okay with it?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun. I don't mind."

"Not even if I talk to her?"

"Her?"

"Yes. The last time someone tried to kill me, she saved me, healed me."

"Kill you?"

"Yeah, the villagers have been trying to kill me since ... always. Thanks to her, I managed to stay alive. She healed me when I was injured. She actually isn't that bad."

"The Kyuubi is a she?"

"Yes ... and she's kind of my girlfriend."

"Oh." Hinata's face fell in disappointment. "I'm happy for you," she said, turning around.

"She doesn't mind sharing."

"What?"

Naruto walked toward Hinata and hugged her from behind. "She doesn't mind sharing."

Hinata turned around in Naruto's embrace and looked deeply in his red eyes.

Naruto kissed her. Hinata melted in Naruto's embrace as he used a little chakra to rub her back. After the kiss, Hinata burrowed her head in his chest. "So, does this mean you'll be my ... girlfriend?" he asked, with one hand rubbing circles on her back and the other running through her hair.

"Yes, Naruto-kun," she replied with a smile.

They stayed like that for some time. "It's getting late," Hinata said in disappointment. "I have to go home. Can I ... Can I come back tomorrow?"

"Of course, Hinata-chan. You are always welcomed here."

**-x-x-x-**

The next morning, Hinata came back. Naruto was still under a tree, reading.

"Good morning, Naruto-Kun."

Naruto took off his mask. "Morning, Hinata-chan."

"What are you reading?"

Naruto put his book on the ground. "Oh, this? Come closer." Hinata took a step forward. "Closer. Another step." When Hinata was in arms reach, Naruto suddenly grabbed her arm and dragged her down in his lap.

"Naruto-kun," she squeaked.

"This," Naruto said, "is something to help you with your stutter. You'll read from this book until you stop stuttering." Naruto gave her the book and he tightened his embrace. His left hand was just under Hinata's right breast and his right one was making circles on her belly.

Hinata started reading aloud. A few minutes later, she reached the juicy stuff and she stopped. "T-This is P-porn," she stammered.

"Yes, and if you manage to read one page without stuttering, I'll give you a present," he murmured, kissing her shoulder.

Hinata nodded, and a few pages later she started to breathe heavily, but she lost the stutter.

Naruto kissed the corner of her mouth. "You improved." Naruto kissed her fully on the lips and Hinata moaned. His left hand slipped under her shirt, kneading a breast.

"Naruto-kun?"

"It's okay. It's time for your reward."

"Reward?"

"Yes, remember that special massage I gave you? It's that kind of reward. Is that fine with you?"

"Yes Naruto-kun," moaned Hinata in pleasure. "I'll do anything for Naruto-kun. I love you, Naruto-kun."

Naruto's hand slipped into her panties. "Good," said Naruto as he kissed her again.

**-x-x-x-**

Naruto stopped from his physical training and watched some of his clones as they dodged one another's kunai attacks. They had been doing it for more than a week. Naruto learned how to dodge and parry, single and multiple attacks.

'Hinata-chan should be here soon.'

'Yes kit.'

'I wish you could meet her in person ... Kyuubi-chan, can the seal be broken?'

'No kit. If it is broken, we both die.'

'That's too bad.'

'If the villagers were to hear you ...'

'Yeah ...Kyuubi-chan? If you can't break the seal, can't we make a shadow clone or some kind of summoning of you?"

Kyuubi fell silent.

'Kyuubi-chan?'

'Naruto-kun, you're brilliant. Let me think a bit about this.'

Kyuubi fell silent for an hour. 'Naruto-kun, I think I got it. Please make a solid clone.'

Naruto did as he was told, but instead of a clone of himself, Kyuubi stood in front of him. 'Did it work?' he thought to Kyuubi.

"Yes," responded the clone.

"How did you know what I mentally asked? My clones don't know what the original thinks. And I talked to the original you from the seal."

"Ah, but that is because you are a human and I am not. It is called multi-tasking. My mind is so powerful that I can control more than one clone, directly. That is why, when you are talking to the clone me, you are talking at the same time with "the me" in the seal. We are one entity. Unlike your clones that think for as individuals, I can make my clones be one entity with me.

"Oh, that's really cool, Kyuubi-chan. I'm glad you can have your own body."

Kyuubi smiled, kissed Naruto and embraced him deeply. "I couldn't have done it without you." Naruto opened his mouth to protest the praise, but was interrupted. "It's true. You gave me the idea and you allowed me to get out."

"Allowed you?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun. I can only do this because you allowed me to get out. Had you fought against me having the clone, I couldn't have done it."

**-x-x-x-**

Naruko the waitress smiled at Anko. Having fifty spies in the village made hearing gossip and rumors very easy. From what Naruto picked up, Anko was the former apprentice of the traitor Orochimaru. Apparently, she was in a similar situation with Naruto. She was hated and despised by most of the village for something that was outside her power. The difference was that Anko was able to protect herself. There were many mutterings behind her back, but only when she was not present. After all it was rumored that Anko was less than stable, something that Anko seems to encourage.

Anko was a regular and a dango addict. Her coworkers were not comfortable around Anko. When they discovered that Naruko had no problem serving her, she was designated more or less as Anko's private waitress. In just a short time, they became friends.

Naruto and Kyuubi decided that Anko was the best choice for a sensei. Naruto really needed a teacher. Kyuubi could do a lot of things, but one of the best things she could do was to delegate and find new talent. Kyuubi in particular liked the woman; she thought Anko would make a great teacher. Soon, Naruto would approach her, but first, Naruko would have to do a bit of groundwork.

Naruko put the sticks of dango in front of Anko, jumped into her lap and hugged her. "You seem upset, Anko-chan; hard day?"

"Yeah, bloody civilians." Naruko started to rub the woman's back. "This feels great," she groaned.

"Feel better?" asked Naruko a few minutes later.

"Yeah, thanks."

"This is nothing. You should go see my sister. Just tell her I sent you. For my special friends, she gives a discount and a special service," said Naruko.

"I think I'll go. Thanks."

**-x-x-x-**

**Author notes**: Wow. I got a lot of reviews... so I decided to hurry with the second chapter.

On the matter of the age/time... Let us say that maybe Naruto is ... 13 or 14 and Hinata is 12. (But if you're uncomfortable...  ... just add two more years to their ages). Naruto flunked twice. For now... the academy is closed. Soon, Naruto will go back to the academy (to repeat the year) with the rooky nine for their last year.

I've read your suggestions and ... some of them I'll incorporate. 

I wanted the girls in the harem to have a good reason for their joining: Kyuubi(at first) because she was making the best of her situation. Hinata because she loves Naruto-kun unconditionally and she would do everything for him. Anko will be, because she is lonely and not exactly sane ... and she will find ... acceptance?

Another girl will be Haku... but that's for the future.

Another girl I'm seriously considering bringing in the harem is Tenten.

Any other girls... I'm still thinking.

Now, about the more ... mature scenes ... I put in this chapter... was it too much? ... too little? ... too soon?

Anyway... hope you liked this chapter.

_**Please review and tell me what you think.**_

Published November 7 2008.

-voider-

**-x-x-x-**


	3. Chapter 3 Meeting

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 3. Meeting.**

**-x-x-x-**

Hinata approached Naruto's home. Her family had lost interest in her training. As such, she was mostly free to train herself and leave her home at will, as long as she returned home on time. She watched the hundreds of clones as they practiced.

They were all running around throwing kunai and shurikens at one another. Some of them were jumping around in the trees; some of them were running on the water; some were running on the ground and some were doing all three. Hinata watched awestruck as they threw weapons at one another. Most of the weapons were dodged. Some were parried. And some were using the substitution technique to escape. Hinata was impressed - being able to do ninjutsu without seals was quite a feat, even the simplest techniques required years of practice. True, the substitution technique was one of the most basic ninjutsu. However, Hinata did not know of anyone who was able to do it. It was quite impressive for an academy student. It was almost as impressive as having hundreds of clones training.

Hinata entered the clearing where the true Naruto was. Unlike his clones, he was training only his body. She smiled in happiness. Her smile however was cut short. Watching Naruto under a tree was a girl. She looked 16 years old and had dark red hair. For a moment she thought she was one of Naruto's clones in female form.

The girl sensed Hinata and looked at the newcomer. Hinata gasped at the eyes. They were the same as Naruto's - red-slit eyes. Somehow Hinata did not think that the girl was Naruto. She had watched many of Naruto's clones. They had different age, gender, height, face and they all had something in common, besides the chakra signature. The girl was different. For a moment she thought about activating her bloodline, but discarded the idea. It would not be polite.

"Hi, Hinata-chan," said Naruto.

"Greetings, Hinata-chan," said the girl.

Hinata drew a deep breath to calm herself. "Hello, Naruto-kun." She glanced at the girl. If she wasn't Naruto, then there was only one other option. She was the Kyuubi.

Naruto appeared a little nervous. "This is Kyuubi," he said, motioning at his companion.

Hinata smiled nervously. "Nice to meet you, Kyuubi-san."

Kyuubi nodded, acknowledging the greeting and approaching the girl. "Naruto, why don't you continue with your training? Hinata and I have some things to discuss ... you know, girl stuff."

"Okay," he said cautiously. "Have fun."

Kyuubi nodded and motioned to the girl to follow her.

Hinata did as she was told and followed Kyuubi in the house. Kyuubi motioned to Hinata to sit. As soon as Hinata sat on a couch, another Kyuubi entered the room. "Tea?" she asked.

"Yes, thank you," replied Hinata.

"Shadow clone," explained Kyuubi, seeing that Hinata was a little confused.

After they drank the tea, Kyuubi sighed. "I guess you are a little uncomfortable."

Hinata wanted to deny it, but shrugged. "A little," she admitted.

"About me being the Kyuubi or me being Naruto's ... mate."

"Both, I think," said Hinata quietly. "Naruto-kun explained about you. I don't hold a grudge against you or your past actions. And he already told me that I'd have to share him with you. I ... I do not mind sharing."

"That is good, because I am not the only one you'll have to share him with. I did not tell Naruto about this. But a side effect of our bond is that he inherited some of my ... demonic instincts. One of them is the urge to mate. For now, the instinct is almost non-existent. In the future however, this will change. His instincts will tell him to take more than one mate. It is the way of my kind. He could suppress those instincts, but he would be much happier and healthier if he did not."

"I understand, Kyuubi-san. I will not stand in the way of his happiness," said Hinata with determination.

"Good. And I'd like you to call me Kyuubi-chan, like Naruto." Hinata nodded and smiled shyly. "Now that we got that out of the way, we need to talk about your training."

"Training, Kyuubi-chan?"

Kyuubi nodded. "I am training Naruto. As my container, he is in great danger from both outside and inside the village. You as one of his mates are in the same danger. You must be able to protect yourself."

Hinata looked down in shame. "I am weak. I ..."

"Yes you are. But you are still in the academy and we will change that in no time. In any case, you are not as unskilled as you think. After all, you can't expect anything else. Your clan barely trains you. Instead of teaching you, they destroy your self-esteem and insult you."

"H-how ... how did you know?"

"What Naruto knows, I know. You told Naruko that your clan doesn't like you that much."

"But ... I didn't tell him anything else."

"Yes, but we have a lot of clones in the village. We got curious about you and we did our research. We found out some things about your clan and you in particular." Kyuubi got up and went next to Hinata, sat down and took her in her lap. "It is hard to get strong when you have no reason and motivation. But that's fine. You got me and Naruto now. We'll help you. We'll help each other."

Hinata felt better. For the first time since her mother died, she had someone that cared for her, even if one of them was a demon and the other the demon's container.

"We are trying to get a sensei. Until that happens, you and Naruto will spar together. His taijutsu skills are abysmal, but his stamina and recovery rate is excellent."

"With me?"

"Yes, since Naruto is very good at creating clones, he will need to learn a style that concentrates less on strength and more on speed and accuracy. As such, I insist on your help. Some of your family style moves are much better suited than what little he learned from the academy. Of course, it is not the best choice as he lacks your bloodline limit, but it will help considerably. Naruto will learn a better style and you'll get some practice. Is that fine with you?"

"Of course, I'll do anything to help Naruto-kun."

**-x-x-x-**

Half an hour later, Hinata and Naruto were preparing to fight each other.

"Go ahead, guys. Let's see what you got."

Five minutes later, Kyuubi interrupted the match. "Stop. Naruto, this isn't a brawl. Use more of your speed. Try to dodge."

"I don't want to hurt her," replied Naruto.

"She'll heal. Better a little bruise now than dead later. In any case, you're too slow to hurt her," said Kyuubi. Hinata ... use your Byakugan and the gentle fist. Both of you are holding back. You know how it is; no pain, no gain."

"But if I do, I'll seal his tenketsu points," said Hinata. "I don't want to hurt Naruto-kun."

Kyuubi frowned at the answer. "Let's try a little experiment. Hinata, seal one of Naruto's tenketsu."

Seeing that Hinata looked doubtful, Naruto smiled warmly at Hinata. "Don't worry, Hinata-chan. I heal pretty fast. I'll be fine. Don't worry. Trust me."

Hinata nodded and did as she was told. She activated her bloodline and her hand flashed forward. Naruto's left hand fell limp.

"That's interesting," said Kyuubi. "Let's see."

Hinata gasped as the sealed tenketsu point, glowed red for a second. Naruto lifted his arm as if it was normal. "How? It takes hours to recover from a gentle fist strike."

"That would be true if Naruto were a normal person. But he isn't. Because I am sealed inside his body, he heals much faster. However, this is not why he recovered so fast. Since I can influence his body, I pushed some of my own chakra in his sealed tenketsu. This means you can practice on Naruto without worrying about hurting him. He is the perfect practice dummy for you."

Naruto didn't seem to appreciate being called a practice dummy, but kept quiet.

"Okay you two. Start practicing and don't hold back. Hinata, as I said you can't harm Naruto. And Naruto, you are too slow for Hinata. This means you can both go all out without worrying. At the moment, you are the perfect sparring partners."

Hinata and Naruto nodded seriously and launched themselves at each other.

**-x-x-x-**

A few hours later, Kyuubi interrupted Hinata and Naruto's sparring for the last time. "That's enough for today. If we continue like this, you'll both progress very fast."

Hinata collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. Even though they had taken regular breaks, Hinata was unable to keep up with Naruto's stamina. Hinata also had a much smaller chakra capacity. Using the Byakugan and the gentle fist for long periods of time required a lot of chakra.

"Hinata, you're almost out of chakra. You did very well," said Kyuubi in an encouraging tone. "If you continue to spar like this every day, your reserves will grow much faster than they normally do. The same applies to your body."

Hinata nodded happily at the encouragement. For the first time, Hinata felt good about herself after a spar. At first, she felt the same way she felt when she was training under her father's disapproving eyes. He was always disappointed in her. But Naruto and Kyuubi were different; under their eyes, she begun to feel ... happy and ... free. They cared. If she made a mistake, Kyuubi would correct her with a smile. They believed in her. They were patient. They did not sneer at her weaknesses.

**-x-x-x-**

A few days later, Naruto woke himself with Kyuubi in his arms. 'Morning, Kyuubi-chan,' said Naruto on their mental link.

Kyuubi gave Naruto a long kiss. 'Good morning, Naruto-kun,' she replied.

'Don't you think it's time for us to talk to Anko?'

'Yes,' she sighed.

'Why the hesitation?' asked Naruto frowning. 'You said she is the best choice for a sensei.'

Kyuubi fell silent for a long time. 'Some of the Jounin say that the Hokage has a ... crystal ball. With it, he can see almost anything in the village. I have felt something watching us from time to time. I think it's the Hokage. He has watched our training. It is quite possible that he found out about me. I am ... concerned.'

'Concerned about what?'

'He is the Hokage. If he were to decide that we are a danger to the village, he might order our death.'

'The old man? He wouldn't.'

'You are still young and foolish. He may care about you, but his duty is to the village. Remember that all of those who become Hokage have red hands. Do not be fooled by the grandfatherly face. He is a ninja and he has killed many. Some of those were innocents sacrificed for the greater good or for profit. We must move carefully while we do not know what the Hokage thinks and while we are vulnerable. If we did not need the resources of the village to get stronger and you were inclined to leave, I would have tried to convince you to run away. Alas, that is not the case. I had thought he would have made a move; that he would have ... questioned us. Since that is not the case, he is still observing us. I do not want to move too quickly. I do not want us to seem too threatening.'

'So what are we going to do?'

'I hoped that the Third would have reacted in some way. He must know that something happened with you. He must suspect that we made some sort of contact. I wanted to wait on Anko until we spoke to him. Since he didn't, I conclude that he is not too concerned. As Anko is a Jounin, she will most likely inform the Hokage if we approach her. That is why I am concerned. If she thinks we are a risk, she will inform the Hokage. It is very important for you to make a good impression on her. She is not liked by the villagers and most of the ninja, but the Third seams to trust her. Her opinion will carry a lot and if he doesn't talk to us first, she'll be the best source of information for the Hokage. It is very important for her to think well of us.'

**-x-x-x-**

'Kyuubi, are you sure about this?' asked Naruko. This was a special day. As such, the true Naruto transformed in Naruko and went to her daily job at the onsen.

'Yes, I am quite sure.'

'But you said we should be careful about approaching her. This isn't careful. She is going to ... hurt me. This isn't a good plan.'

Kyuubi rolled her metaphoric eyes. 'Don't worry Naruko-chan. I have everything planed out.'

Later that day, Naruko's next client came. "Anko-chan, it is good to see you. Lately, you come by every day. You must be very stressed out."

Anko grinned seductively. "I just love your touch," she said advancing towards Naruko. Two steps away from Naruko, she threw her bathrobe away. "Like what you see?" she asked in a breathy voice.

"Of course, Anko-chan. You are very beautiful," Naruko replied taking in the naked sight.

"Damn, you're no fun, Naruko-chan. At first you were unable to look at me without blushing and now ... damn. Teasing you was the most fun I had. But now, you don't even blink," she pouted. "Am I loosing my touch?"

"Of course not Anko-chan. I just got used to you. Don't worry. Now, sit."

Anko nodded and lied down on the table. Naruko proceeded with her job, making Anko groan. "You know, this is great. You're the next best thing to dango."

"You mean food is better than me? I'm disappointed Anko-chan. Let me show you something. I'll prove I'm the best. Naruko's hands begun to glow pink and she started to gently rub Anko's back.

"Oh gods," moaned Anko.

Minutes later, Anko was a puddle of quivering flesh. "So, am I better than dango?" asked Naruko.

"Yes, you are. That was incredible."

"I know. My girlfriend has the same opinion."

"Your ... girlfriend. Won't she be upset about this?"

"No, she's okay with sharing."

"Huh. So, who is she? Do I know the lucky girl?"

"I doubt it. She's an academy student. I don't think you ever met her."

"Your girlfriend is in the academy? Aren't you a little old for that?"

"Not at all. I'm just a year older than her. I'll be in the same class with her this year."

Anko turned her head towards Naruko and frowned in suspicion. "You can't be that young. You are at least sixteen."

"Ah well, Naruko smiled nervously. I'm ... kind of ... disguised."

Anko sat up and peered closely at Naruko. "You aren't under a Transformation Technique."

"Not exactly," replied Naruko. Naruto was never good at Ninjutsu. Before he met Kyuubi, he was never able to do a normal clone. That was because It required too little chakra and too much control. The same thing could have been said about the Transformation Technique. It was more of a Genjutsu than a Ninjutsu. However, Naruto was unaware of the distinction. He thought that he could actually physically transform in a different being or object. Due to Kyuubi special abilities, Naruto was able to do the impossible for a normal human. He was able to physically transform into someone or something else. The only technique he was able to do was the Replacement, since it did not require precise chakra control. Of course, that all changed after he met Kyuubi. Thanks to her, Naruto was able to read and understand the theory behind the techniques. He was also able to learn chakra control to perform the transformation and clone techniques as they were thought in the academy.

Anko peered closer at Naruko. Suddenly, she touched Naruko's breasts. "They are real. This isn't a illusion. You can't be a young academy girl."

Naruko smiled inwardly. "I'm not."

"You just said you were," said Anko with narrowed eyes.

"Um, I am an academy ... student." Gods. I hope she won't kill me, thought Naruko.

"That's what I said."

"No you didn't," replied Naruko nervously.

Anko narrowed her eyes, thinking for a long minute. "I said girl. You said student. Are you saying you aren't a girl?"

"Um ... yes?"

"That can't be." Anko opened Naruko's shirt and took off the bra and stared at the breasts. "Those are real," she declared. "Naruko, are you making fun of me?" she asked dangerously.

"No Anko-chan. This is my female form."

"Female form. Does this mean you have a male form?"

"Yes."

"I don't believe that. Show me!" she ordered.

Naruko nodded. Suddenly, instead of a girl, a boy was in front of Anko. "Hi, I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

Anko's eyes bulged out. She started to touch him. "This can't be. You are a boy." Anko brought her hands together. "Kai! Huh, nothing happened. It isn't a Genjutsu. You really are a boy."

"Yeah," responded the blond blue eyed boy. In the weeks following Naruto's meeting with Kyuubi, Naruto had grown considerably. He was no longer a little runt. Thanks to eating healthy and not starving, coupled to the new connection with Kyuubi, Naruto grew to a height normal to his age group.

"Wait a minute. If you are a boy ... you've seen me naked."

'Shit,' thought Naruto. 'She's going to kill me now.'

'Calm down Naruto. I told you I planned this. Trust me,' said Kyuubi

"Yeah. Sorry about that."

Anko remained silent for a few long moments, and then she grinned wickedly. "Well, well, so young and such a pervert. Did you enjoy staring at naked girls? Did you enjoy rubbing your hands on their hot ... naked ... beautiful, hot, naked bodies?"

"That's not why I did this." Unconsciously, Naruto's eyes glanced on Anko's full breasts.

"That doesn't mean you didn't enjoy it." Anko took Naruto in her arms, placing his head between her breasts. "Does it?"

"Uh ... sorry."

"Uah, you're so cute when you're embarrassed."

"You're not mad?" asked a shocked Naruto.

"Nah, actually this is quite amusing," laughed Anko. "I didn't have this much fun in years." Anko sat on the table with Naruto in her lap. "So, why did you do all this? Wait a minute. I know about you. You don't have any relatives, but that girl from the dango shop said she's your sister."

"It's a long story."

"I have all the time in the world ... Naruko-chan," she laughed.

"Well, most people hate me for some reason. In the academy, the teacher refused to teach me. I learned how to read on my own, but I was not that good since I had to pick up the skill on my own, without reading materials. Most stores don't sell me things, so I couldn't even buy a book. Because the teachers didn't like me, they sabotaged me and tried to teach me as little as possible. I failed the academy exam twice. I couldn't make clones, so I failed. Because my chakra reserves are very large, my control was very bad. No one ever told me what to do and because I'm not allowed in the library, I didn't know about chakra control exercises."

"You say that as if now you don't have those problems anymore."

"Yeah, after I failed the exam, someone tried to kill me, again. When I woke up, old man Hokage gave me a new home that is kind of isolated. I learned the Shadow Clone Technique from a friend and got some advice. After that day, my life changed."

"You learned how to make shadow clones?"

"Yeah. since I have a lot of chakra I can make a lot of them. It also seams that my Transformation Technique is a little special. I used transformed clones to enter in the libraries. That's how I found out about chakra control exercises. I used my shadow clones to train. If my clones learn something, the knowledge is transferred to me after they are dispelled. After that, I continued to use my clones to train, learn and read books. I learned how to read and my chakra control is very good now. I also practiced until I managed to do replacement, clones and transformation without seals."

"Without seals? That's quite impressive. What about your ... sister."

"Uh ... I kind of needed some money, so I made some clones and put them to work."

"I see. So, are you a clone?"

"Not today. I'm the real me."

"That can't be. I've seen her and you get hit. A shadow cloned dies if it receives a hit."

"Yeah, but the clones that work are special. They are solid clones. I made a few changes to the technique. If you ... reinforce it by putting more chakra in a shadow clone, you can make them a lot more powerful. They can take a few hits before they die."

"So you mean you have your disguised clones running around the village?" Anko laughed.

"Yeah, I got a few dozens. I need the money, and learning a civilian skill is nothing to sneeze at. As a ninja I might need to pretend I am a civilian."

"I see, so who is that friend that showed you the Shadow clone technique?"

"I'm sorry Anko-chan. I promised I'd keep the name secret."

"Ah, that's okay. You say that the academy teachers never teach you anything?"

"Yeah, unless insults and punishments are meant to teach me something."

"I see, so why did you tell me all this."

"I know that the villager hate you almost as much as they hate me. You were always nice to me and we became ... friends, so I thought I could trust you."

"Uah, you're so sweet," replied Anko and smothered the boy to her chest. "I like you! How about this, since you say you have all those clones to produce money, let's make a deal. You give me free massage and food and I'll train you."

"Really?!"

"Yeah."

"Thank you Anko-chan. Can you help my ... girlfriend too?"

"Huh ... who's she?"

"Hinata Hyuuga. Her family isn't nice, so we train together."

"I see. Well, the more the merrier."

"Thank you Anko-chan."

**-x-x-x-**

The next morning, Naruto decided to take a break for the day. Anko would not be a gentle teacher.

As soon as Hinata came, Naruto took off his mask. He preferred his true eyes, but he did not want to let Anko to see them. In time, after he gained more trust in her, he would tell her more. For the moment however, his true eyes would only be seen by Hinata and Kyuubi.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun."

"Morning, Hinata-chan. I have news. Come inside; I'll tell you all about it over breakfast."

Naruto told Hinata about his meeting with Anko after eating.

"That is great," Hinata said excitedly.

**-x-x-x-**

The next day, Anko came by Naruto's house for their first day of training. After some quick introductions, Anko decided to begin. "So, you Naruto, what can you do?"

"I know the three academy Ninjutsu's and the shadow clone. I can do the without seals. I suck at Genjutsu and my Taijutsu isn't very good. I progressed a bit thanks to Hinata-chan. My weapon throwing ability's are good. I have a lot of chakra and my chakra control is pretty good."

"Okay. What about you, Hinata?"

"I only know the academy basic Ninjutsu and my family style. Due to my bloodline, I can see through almost any Genjutsu. My taijutsu skills are better than average. I am average with weapons. I do not have a lot of chakra, but my control is almost perfect."

Anko nodded in satisfaction. "Okay you two. Why don't you two have a friendly spar."

Naruto and Hinata nodded and launched themselves in the fight. Half an hour later, Anko stopped them. "That's acceptable ... for wet behind the ears academy students. You'll have to do better.

After they rested for a bit, Anko decided to test them further. "Okay guys, now it is me against you two. You can use anything you want. Come seriously at me. Try to at least land a blow."

Naruto and Hinata nodded and sped into the forest. Naruto made thirty clones and sent them at Anko to test her. They engaged her in Taijutsu. Anko killed them all, but barely moved.

Naruto sent another wave of clones. This time, they surrounded Anko and started throwing kunais at her. Anko dodged and caught a kunai in each hand. The clones fired kunais again. Anko rushed the clones, while parrying the weapons thrown at her. She passed by them, making only one slash. Soon all the clones were dead.

Naruto made sixty shadow clones and ten solid clones and attacked Anko. Hinata was right behind Naruto. They began to attack. Naruto, Hinata and the solid clones were attacking hand to hand and the shadow clones kept their distance, occasionally throwing a kunai at Anko.

Anko waved through their attacks, never being hit, but always hitting something. She made a clone of herself who rushed the shadow clones that were attacking from the distance. Naruto and Hinata tried to move faster, but it was impossible to land a hit on the Special Jounin.

In the end, Naruto and Hinata collapsed on the ground, exhausted.

Anko wasn't even breathing hard. "That was fun. Hinata, Your greatest strength should be your speed, but you are not fast enough. You also lack stamina and chakra capacity. We'll concentrate on that. Also, using only your ... formal family style isn't good enough; it has some weaknesses. My style is similar enough that you can incorporate some of it in your personal style."

"Yes Anko-sensei."

"Naruto, you have a lot of stamina and chakra, but you don't know how to use them. You can make a lot of clones, but they are useless as you are now. Since clones are so fragile, even your solid clones, you need to concentrate on your speed and combat style. I'll teach you mine. It's fast, precise, brutal and deadly. No flashy and flowery movements. The way you move now ... you are brawling. Using my style, you'll learn how to incapacitate or kill in one movement, similar to Hinata's style. If she would have hit me even once, she would have weakened me considerably. However if you hit me, it's nothing, just a little pain, but no damage. Also, since you have a lot of chakra and you can use shadow clones to learn new things, I'll teach you some techniques that work very good with your shadow clones. I want you to practice them until you are as proficient as you are with your clone technique. Normally, this would take years, but thanks to your special learning technique, you should be able to master them in a few weeks."

"Yes, Anko-sensei."

**-x-x-x-**

**Author Notes**: Next chapter, we'll probably see Naruto enter the Academy.

For now, Naruto is still ... naive/kind ... But he has a ... "higher power" to advise him.

About any special powers, bloodlines and what not ... you'll see.

I won't make him godlike, but he'll become ... in time ... powerful. After all, Itachi was a Anbu Captain at the age of 13. Naruto has a benevolent demon inside of him, a lot of chakra and (now) a good teacher.

_**Please review and tell me what you think.**_

Published: November 20 2008.

-voider-

**-x-x-x-**


	4. Chapter 4 Training

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 4.**

**Training.**

**-x-x-x-**

The next day, Anko returned to Naruto's home. He prepared a large and healthy breakfast for Anko and himself. After they finished eating, they went outside to wait for Hinata.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun, Anko-sensei," Hinata said when she arrived.

"Good morning, Hinata-chan," Naruto greeted her with a smile.

Anko nodded at the greeting. "Morning Hinata; now that we are all here, it's time for training. Today, you will continue sparring." Anko looked at Naruto. "Since you can make so many clones, your clones can learn two new techniques while you and Hinata train. The first is..." Anko drew a kunai and launched it at a tree, and then she made a few hand-signs. "Shuriken shadow technique," she shouted.

Dozens of shurikens came into existence. Some of them hit the tree and others flew past it, hitting other trees.

"Wow, that was impressive," said Naruto.

"You haven't seen anything," Anko grinned and did a hand sign. "Shadow clone technique."

Another Anko came into existence; she walked towards the lake and stopped in its center. A few seconds later, she exploded.

"I'm going to learned that?" Naruto said, impressed by the explosion.

"Yes. How many shadow clones can you make for training?"

"I can make a thousand."

"Impressive. You will make five hundred shadow clones to practice the shuriken shadow technique and five hundred that will practice the exploding clone technique."

"Yes, Anko-sensei."

"The exploding clone technique is a suicide type technique that allows you to use the chakra from your clone to form a powerful explosion..."

**-x-x-x-**

After Anko explain to Naruto how to perform the two new techniques, he created his clones and sent them training. After that, he and Hinata sparred for the rest of the day. From time to time, Anko stopped them and corrected their moves.

By the end of the day, Naruto's clones managed to learn both techniques Anko showed to him.

"Let's stop for today," Anko told her two new students.

"Yes Anko-sensei," Naruto and Hinata answered in unison.

"Naruto, dispel your clones and show me what you learned."

"Yes Anko-sensei." Naruto gave the command to his clones to dispel. "I think I got it," he said with a grin. Naruto barely felt a twinge of dizziness at the 500 clones that dumped their memories into him. Kyuubi had become quite proficient at processing the information received from his clone training. The 500 clones that were supposed to learn the exploding clone technique had already completed their training in an exploding exam.

"Really? Let's see it," Anko said.

Naruto created ten clones. They jumped into some trees and surrounded a tree trunk. They all launched shurikens at it, at the same time. "Shuriken shadow technique," the clones shouted in unison. For each real shuriken, dozens of shadow ones came into existence. The trunk tree was hit with hundreds of shurikens. As soon as the shurikens hit, the ten clones sped towards their target. Once they reached it, they exploded in perfect synchrony.

"That's pretty good, brat," Anko said. "With the techniques you now know, you should be able to defeat any number of genins and almost any single chuunin."

Naruto grinned at the praise.

"However, don't let that go to your head," Anko said sternly. "A quick chuunin would be able to defeat you with ease."

"Yes, Anko-sensei," Naruto replied soberly.

**-x-x-x-**

Next day, Anko came again for breakfast.

"Naruto, your greatest weakness is your Taijutsu," Anko begun. "Yesterday, after seeing how fast you learned the two techniques I showed you, I realized how you could learn faster: each day, your clones will learn a few katas and moves. If they practice it long enough they will become an instinct for you.

The next day, Naruto was able to sometimes block a few of Hinata's hits.

Each day, Anko would show him more katas and moves for his clones to practice. She organized pairs of clones that would mock-fight in slow motion against each other using only one move and its counter-move.

In a little over a week, Naruto learned the basics of Anko's style.

Naruto slid under one of Hinata's right hand strikes. His left hand flashed forward, barely diverting Hinata's left hand strike from his heart, to his shoulder. Both of Hinata's hands were not in reach to stop Naruto's devastating hit on a particularly sensitive spot, on Hinata's torso.

Hinata collapsed to her knees, breathing rapidly.

As this was only training, Naruto did not use his full power in the strike. If he did, he could have injured her severely. Anko's stile was extremely brutal. One good hit could cripple or even kill his opponent.

"Now that Naruto is no longer a punching bag for you Hinata," Anko said with a grin, "you both can truly begin to learn."

Both students groaned and nodded.

"You both need to be as fast as you possible can - Naruto for your clones and Hinata because speed is the centerpiece of your style."

"Isn't there a better way to increase our speed and agility than this?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, like training weights," Naruto said with enthusiasm.

Anko nodded. "True, training weights would make you much faster. However, this method has a very big weakness."

"Weakness?" Naruto asked.

"Yes Naruto. If you use training weights, your bodies will become much stronger and faster when you take them off. However, what happens when you must enter a battle and you have training weights on you?"

Both Hinata and Naruto shrugged in confusion. "You take them off?" Naruto ventured.

"Yes," Anko nodded. "You take them off. But will the enemy not attack while you do? Even if you can release them instantly, there is another, bigger problem."

"What problem?"

"When you take them off, your mind will become confused. It would be like you were having a different body. Your mind will need time to get accustomed to the new weight. Even if you have the time, you will never get top performance from it since your mind is accustomed to having a heavier body. You will win speed and strength, but you will loose something almost as important as your agility. You will loose precision."

Naruto and Hinata nodded in understanding.

"Both my style and the gentle fist need precision and complete control over the body almost as much as they need speed. There is also the fact that you guys already train a lot. Weighting your body as well is too much for your young bodies. Because of that, training weights are out of the question. Understood?"

"Yes Anko-sensei," Hinata and Naruto answered.

'Besides that,' Kyuubi cut over Naruto's disappointment, 'training weights would do little for you.'

'Why is that, Kyuubi-chan?' Naruto asked.

'Since we first talked, I have been repairing your body and getting it to perfect condition. You don't need training weights when you have me molding your body into the perfect form for your age.'

'I see,' Naruto said with a mental grin. 'Thank you Kyuubi-chan.'

The two young students continued to spar, with Anko giving them instructions and correcting them from time to time.

**-x-x-x-**

A week before the Academy started, the Hokage visited the scene Naruto and Hinata practiced under Anko.

Hinata and Naruto stopped and turned towards the old man.

"Naruto, Hinata, Anko-san, good morning."

"Hokage-sama." The three bowed slightly to the old man and Sarutobi raised an eyebrow when he saw how polite Naruto was behaving.

"I'm sorry to disturb your students Anko, but I need to talk to Naruto," Sarutobi explained.

"Of course, Hokage-sama." Anko motioned to Naruto to go with the old man.

While they were walking towards the house, the Hokage was observing Naruto's clones which were performing the same slow motions at first, and then, doing them faster and faster. "Shadow clones. And that is Anko's style," he observed.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. Anko-sensei was kind enough to teach it to me and Hinata," Naruto replied.

"And the shadow clones? Where did you learn that? That's a forbidden advanced technique. It is quite dangerous to perform due to the risk of chakra exhaustion."

"Yes, I know Hokage-sama, a friend taught it to me."

"A friend," the Hokage grunted.

Once inside the house, Naruto casually made a clone silently and without any hand-seals.

"That's a pretty impressive skill."

"Thanks. I've done them so many times that the technique is now second nature to me," Naruto explained.

The clone returned with some tea and Naruto talked with the Hokage for a while about his training with Anko.

"Naruto," the Hokage said after some time, "may I ask why you are so polite? A few weeks ago, you called me old man. Now, I'm Hokage-sama. What changed?"

"As you know, I raised myself. I was unaware of many things: social customs, common courtesy and my impoliteness towards the leader of the village amongst other things. I was taught by my friend about these things."

"I see... I have some questions about your friend."

"My friend?" Naruto asked.

"Yes Naruto. The friend who taught you all these things."

"The Kyuubi," Naruto said after a long pause.

Sarutobi's eyes widened at the casual fact. "So you know," he sighed.

"She told me all about it, the night that man tried to murder me. We made a ... pact."

"A pact," The Hokage said carefully. "May I ask what kind of pact?"

"She helps me in any way she can and I allow her to have some creature comforts. I think you should talk to her personally," Naruto grinned cheerfully.

Suddenly, behind Naruto's chair, another clone poofed into existence. The old man thought for a fraction of a second that it was another of Naruto's clones. "Kyuubi!?"

"Yes Hokage. I am Kyuubi," the girl with the red-slit eyes replied."

The old man's body tensed for a fight.

"Do not worry, human. I am not here to fight. The only thing I care for now is Naruto's happiness and safety. I have no desire to take revenge on you or your village. And even if I were, I am not capable of hurting you. I am only a clone and I can only come into existence if Naruto allows it."

"Is that true, Naruto?"

"Yes. I am in complete control of her ability to manifest," Naruto replied.

"Naruto..." the Hokage started to say carefully. "You can not trust her. She is a daemon."

The daemon sat casually in the chair next to Naruto. "What is that supposed to mean, human?"

"You are a malevolent biju." Sarutobi turned towards Naruto. "They are dangerous creatures. She is responsible for the disaster that befell your ..."

'My what?' Naruto silently wondered.

"... our village over a decade ago," the Hokage continued. "She killed many of our people."

"How quick you are to point the finger ... ninja of Konoha," Kyuubi replied. "You, who murder the innocent for gold. Had your ninja not tried to bind me to their will, this would not have happened."

"Bind you?"

"Indeed."

"That's not possible. You're lying," The Hokage said angrily.

"I assure you, I am speaking the truth," Kyuubi replied.

"That can't be. I would have known..."

"Perhaps the Forth kept it secret."

"The Yondaime?" Sarutobi shook his head. "No. He would never have done such a thing."

"Perhaps, but you could be wrong." Kyuubi shrugged. "Perhaps it was a rogue faction of your village. It might even be that those who attacked me were only pretending to be Konoha ninja. However, I doubt it. After their failed attempt, they retreated to Konoha."

"I see. Is this why you attacked the village?"

Kyuubi nodded. "Such offense demanded retribution."

"So all that death and destruction was because you felt offended?" The Hokage asked incredulously.

"Is this not the same thing you do? If an enemy village attacks you or something under your responsibility, do you not extract retribution? You should be thankful that I gave your village the kindness that put me in this situation.

"Kindness?" the old man asked bitterly. "You call your rampage kindness? Do you have any idea how many died?"

"Foolish human; the responsibility for their deaths belongs only to the village leader - the Yondaime. Blame him, not me."

"What?" The old man said outraged. "He died for this village, he was a hero."

"He was a fool," Kyuubi sneered.

'Kyuubi-chan? Are you sure this is wise?' Naruto silently asked her. 'Are you not too aggressive?'

'No. This is the perfect way to deal with him.'

"What?" The Hokage was seething. "I will not have you insulting him."

"Tell me human. If you have a house on the bank of a river and you know that it will flood in three days, what do you do?"

The Hokage was taken by surprise by the strange question and he calmed down, pondering the strange question. He decided to answer it. "I take my possessions and family and climb to a high location."

"And if you know a great daemon will arrive into your village in three days, what do you do? Tell me human, why did you fight? I gave you plenty of time to flee, but you did not heed my warning. Your foolish villagers were still inside the village. Your ninja were protecting the walls. What were they protecting? The people or the property?"

"They were protecting our home."

"Homes can be rebuilt. What did you think? That I would nest in the center of the village and you'd never get your land back? I would have destroyed some of your property, and then I would have left the same way the river recedes after a flood. Do you think I had nothing more productive to do than fight with pesky humans?"

"We ... we had to protect Konoha," replied Sarutobi.

"If you say so, I will speak of it no more. That is the past and the past cannot be changed. We should speak of the present and the future."

"Yes," the Hokage nodded thoughtfully.

Kyuubi narrowed her eyes. "I wish to speak of Naruto-kun's abusive treatment. An abuse he received from your entire village."

"That's not true. Not all the villagers are like that," the Hokage protested weakly.

"Yes, you are correct. Not all. The owner of the ramen stand and his daughter were always kind to Naruto. Hinata is a good friend and Anko is a good sensei. You have also helped Naruto on some occasions. There are some that are ... shall we say neutral towards Naruto, but that's all. They do not harm him, but they never tried to help or protect him. This is the extremely small minority. The rest of your villagers take any chance they can to harm or belittle him. From the day I was sealed inside Naruto, I had to cure him of poisons. I had to heal the injuries produced by bullying from other children, the abuse of the adults and the wounds of those who would injure or kill him. I had to correct the ravages of hunger and insufficient food. I will no longer tolerate such abuse. Do I make myself clear?" she snarled at the silent old man.

"I always tried to protect Naruto," Sarutobi said.

"You failed."

"I know. I am sorry Naruto."

"It's okay old man," Naruto said with a smile. "I know you always tried to protect me."

"Thank you Naruto. That means a lot to me."

"You don't have to worry about me so much now. When I venture in the village, I go in disguise, so I'm safe and they don't overcharge me."

The Hokage winced at Naruto's words.

"I'm also learning a lot from Anko-sensei so I can protect myself. And Kyuubi-chan makes me eat healthy food every day."

"I am glad for that," Sarutobi said with a smile. "Before I go, may I see your seal? It is located on your belly."

Naruto nodded and showed the seal to the old man.

The Hokage looked deeply at it for a few seconds and nodded. "The seal is unchanged. Naruto, I must ask you to not reveal you can talk to Kyuubi and her ability to manifest to anyone besides people you have the utmost trust. If you do, you would put yourself in grave danger. Do you understand?"

"Of course, Hokage-sama."

"Good. Now, I will take my leave," the Hokage said. "I still have a lot of paperwork to sign. Good day, Naruto, Kyuubi-san."

"Hokage-sama."

'That went surprisingly well,' Naruto said.

'Yes,' Kyuubi agreed. 'I believe the Hokage will continue to protect you, but he will have Anko keep an eye on you.'

'And you?' Naruto asked.

'And me. I think I managed to convince him I meant no great harm to the village. Until now, he thought I was some kind of mindless bloodthirsty monster bend on slaughtering his village.'

**-x-x-x-**

Anko left earlier that day, and Naruto prepared dinner for three. While they ate, Naruto and Kyuubi told Hinata about their conversation with the Hokage.

They retired in the bedroom and Naruto took Hinata in his arms and gave her a little kiss on her shoulder. On Hinata's other side was Kyuubi.

"Do you think the old man will tell Anko about you, Kyuubi?"

"Yes, but we will see tomorrow," Kyuubi replied.

"And will they not try to harm you?" Hinata asked.

"I do not think so," Kyuubi answered. "Before now, the Hokage thought of me as an unreasonable monster. Now, he thinks there is a good chance I have no intention to harm his village if I am not provoked. He also saw the seal. He doesn't consider us too dangerous."

"I won't let them harm you," Hinata vowed.

Kyuubi smiled and gently kissed the girl. "I know my dear. We protect each other." Kyuubi kissed the girl again and hugged her hard. "You belong to me and I belong to you. I will always protect you."

Hinata relaxed in the double embrace and fell asleep for a short, but blissful hour. When she woke up, she would have to leave her home and go back to her clan's home. How she wished she was free of that place; to fall asleep in their arms; to wake in their embrace. Every day. Forever. "I love you," she whispered as she fell asleep.

**-x-x-x-**

The next day, Anko came to breakfast as usual. Unlike most time however, she was quiet and pensive.

"Anko-sensei?" Naruto asked, "is something wrong?"

"I had an interesting talk with the Hokage yesterday," she said slowly. "When I first started to train you, I informed him about it. I also told him of your academy teachers' behavior. He said that he was aware of it in some minor part, but that he could not do too much about it. He seemed to be glad I was going to train you." Anko paused for a few long moments. "As I was saying, we had another long talk yesterday. He told me of his conversation with her - the Kyuubi. May I see her?"

"Of course Anko-sensei."

Kyuubi materialized next to Naruto. "Greetings Anko-san."

"Kyuubi," Anko nodded at the apparition. "You told the Hokage you have no intention to take revenge on the village and that you want to protect Naruto."

"Indeed."

"Can you prove that?" Anko challenged.

"I can not. However that does not matter. The fact is that the seal is not broken and I see no way to break it. It appears I am imprisoned inside Naruto for eternity. I do not see any way to break my prison and gain my freedom."

Anko nodded. "The Hokage said that the seal is intact. But you can still take control of him for a short time or you can influence him."

"Influence him?" Kyuubi inquired. "To do what? For what reason?"

Anko just stared at Kyuubi.

"You think I have nothing better to do than kill pesky humans?" Kyuubi replied. "What would I have to gain?"

"You are a daemon," Anko said slowly, as if she was talking to a small child.

"I do not contest the fact that my kind can be a little aggressive when angered, or even that we indulge on acts of wanton destruction on occasion. However, we do not hold the monopoly on that. The fact is that most of my kind prefers their isolation and we rarely venture in places where humans live. We can sleep for years, and sometimes, even for centuries. Most of the time we battle with humans is when we are provoked or when we are sealed into humans to give them power for their numerous wars."

Anko nodded. "Fair enough."

Just then, the door opened and Hinata stepped through it. She looked questioningly at Kyuubi as if to ask her what was going on.

Anko however, mistook the look. "Hello Hinata. This is..." Anko floundered, trying to find a name and explanation for the strange red-slit-eyed girl sitting in Naruto's kitchen.

"Kyuubi," Hinata said.

"You knew?" Anko gasped, surprised by the admission.

"I've known for quite a long time."

"And you're not..."

"Scared?" Hinata asked.

"Yes."

Of course not," Hinata nonchalantly said. "Why should I?"

"Well... she is a daemon."

Hinata's eyes narrowed dangerously. "So what?" She had finally found two people she loved and who loved her back. She did not care that they were a daemon and her vessel. They loved her and that was all that mattered. The Hinata of a few weeks ago wouldn't have recognized the new Hinata. Gone was her constant stuttering. She was still shy, but she no longer cowered in front of her family. She no longer let their scoffs, sneers and ridicule bother her because Naruto and Kyuubi were there for her. She would protect them even from Anko, who could kick both her and Naruto's butts with ease. Hinata's stance subtly shifted into an offensive one.

Anko saw it and raised an eyebrow. "Relax, Hinata. Both the Hokage and I do not think there is any immediate threat."

"So you have no problem with us ... and me specifically?" Kyuubi asked.

"No, from what I heard from you, what the Hokage said when you talked with him and the way you helped Naruto, you're not that bad..." Anko stopped for a moment and looked into the distance. "I wish I had someone like you guys after Orochimaru," she muttered under her breath, thinking Naruto, Hinata and Kyuubi did not hear her, "it would have been nice to have such friends."

Naruto and Kyuubi however, heard her, courtesy to their enhanced senses.

"Move your butts, my precious students. Time for training," Anko suddenly said with a cheerful smile. "Kyuubi-san, would you mind coming? From what I understand, you are Naruto's mysterious friend that helped him so much. I think your input will be valuable."

"Of course Anko-san."

**-x-x-x-**

The day before Naruto and Hinata's first day at the academy, after Anko left, Kyuubi decided to teach them a cool technique.

"So what are you going to teach us?" Naruto asked the red-haired girl.

Kyuubi summoned into existence a scroll and opened it. "This is the fox summoning contract. You must sign it in your blood."

Naruto and Hinata bit their thumbs and signed the scroll.

Kyuubi took the scroll back and it vanished. She showed them the hand signs for summoning, and they began to practice. Some time later, both Hinata and Naruto managed to summon two small baby foxes.

"They're so cute," Hinata gushed.

"Yes, why don't you dispel them for now," Kyuubi said rapidly.

"You can go back," Naruto said to his summon. Hinata too, dismissed her summon, though with a little reluctance.

"I want you to practice this technique, especially you Naruto. With your reserves, you can even summon the boss if you get some practice. Also, just like any other technique, the more experienced you are, the less chakra you expend."

"Uh, Kyuubi-chan, won't the fox summons get upset if I summon them too much?"

"Of course not, Naruto-kun. The more powerful and older ones might get irritated if you do, but they're a special case. The younger ones will always welcome the chance to get summoned."

"But, aren't they sometimes busy?" Hinata worriedly asked. "Do they really not mind getting summoned if they were busy with something else?

"Of course not," Kyuubi grinned. "They can do both at the same time."

"Eh?" Hinata looked confused, but Naruto nodded.

"When you summon, you actually make a type of shadow clone. The closest thing to it is Naruto's solid clone. The summoner provides the chakra and the summoned provides the consciousness for the summon. When it is dispelled, the summon's memory is returned to its source, the same as Naruto's clones. Younger summons especially, enjoy the experiences they have in this realm. So you see, you don't have to worry about summoning them too often. One thing I want you to do is to summon them every day and put them to guard the property."

"That doesn't sound like fun," Hinata observed. "I can see them coming here for adventures or for having fun, but I can't really see them doing something as boring as guard duty."

Kyuubi nodded and smiled. "That is true. However, since Naruto has so many jobs, he can afford buying them food. I assure you that such mutually beneficial relationships are highly prized by most summons.

**-x-x-x-**

**Author's Notes**: Next chapter, Naruto and Hinata go to school.

Since there are so many inconsistencies in Naruto, like how Naruto failed twice, and he still went in the same class with Sasuke, I will give my own take on it:

In canon: Naruto could not have tried to take the exam early, because if he did, Sasuke would have done the same thing. What do you think Sasuke would have preferred? To remain in a class of snot-nosed weaklings? Or to graduate early(and he was skilled enough to do it) and join a team. Given Sasuke's lust for power, if there was any way for Naruto to graduate early, Sasuke would have done the same and he would not have failed like Naruto.

Because of that, in my universe, Naruto is older than his classmates and he will now begin the last year of academy(again) with Hinata.

On another note, I have read some fics where Naruto gets stronger by using weights or gravity seals. However, I always thought they have some weaknesses. There were fics where Naruto moved so fast that he could not keep up with his body. I consider uncontrollable speed to be a liability. There is also the effect of overtraining. I don't want my Naruto at age 13 to have more muscles than Schwarzenegger.

_**Please review.**_

Published: December 26 2008.

-voider-

**-x-x-x-**


	5. Chapter 5 Academy

**'**blah**'** talking on a mental link.

**"**blah**"** speaking.

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 5.**

**Academy.**

**-x-x-x-**

Naruto and Hinata arrived the first day of Academy at the same time. They entered their classroom and headed towards the last row and took their seats in silence.

They had decided to not hide their relationship completely because it would be too hard and one of them might slip. Instead, they would behave like friends and training partners. 'If Hinata is forbidden by her family to see me, we can find a way to get past it. But if they don't, there's no reason to hide too much.'

More students arrived, glancing around the classroom, greeting friends. Some stared for a few moments at Naruto in his dark mask and ANBU clothes, curious of their new classmate. However most of the girls and one or two guys kept giving glances to a dark haired boy.

Two chuunin entered the classroom. "Good morning, class. I am Umino Iruka and I will be your sensei this year. This is Touji Mizuki, my assistant. Now, let's take attendance..." Iruka started calling names.

"Aburame Shino..."

'He's a bug user,' Naruto thought. 'He's a clan heir. They are the silent type.'

'Just like you learned to be,' Kyuubi replied.

Naruto always had a lot of energy. He was always doing pranks or doing something loud and outrageous to get attention. However, since he met Kyuubi, that all changed. He still had a lot of energy, but that was all used for training or for the time he spend with Hinata and Kyuubi. He also didn't need attention. After all he had two girls that loved him. It was not the village-wide respect he used to dream for; it was the love of only two and Naruto was happy with it.

Mentally, Naruto was no longer a child. In only a short time, he acquired the experience of many years. True, the clones that were used only for training did not give him life experience, but the others did. The clones he always sent to read were helping him gain "book smarts." He learned many things from books: not only practical things, but also other things ... about life. He learned even more from his solid clones - the ones that worked. It was nice to be normal. To not be looked at with annoyance, disgust or hatred. From them, he learned that he had a right to exist, to be happy. And the real Naruto learned from Kyuubi and Hinata how to be happy.

Using the clones matured Naruto's mental age. He was now content with not being in the center of attention. At first, his solid clones changed their behavior. Submerging themselves into other personalities, they learned patience and control. These of course transferred to the true Naruto. Naruto was no longer the exploding ball of energy. He was a relatively calm and collected young man.

"Akimichi Chouji..."

'Another clan heir. Capable of enlarging his body size.'

"Haruno Sakura..."

'A civilian,' Naruto thought in dismissal. 'From what I remember, she's a fan girl.'

'Are you not too cold, Naruto?' Kyuubi asked. 'A few months ago, you liked her.'

'A few months ago, I was a moron,' Naruto countered. 'And it's not like I saw her more than a few times.'

"Hyuuga Hinata..."

'Our beloved Hinata. Capable of using her eyes to see chakra.'

"Inuzuka Kiba..."

'Heir of the dog clan. Stronger and faster; enhanced senses. They bond with ninja dogs.'

"Nara Shikamaru..."

'Heir to the shadow user clan.'

"Yamanaka Ino..."

'Very pretty. Heir to the Yamanaka clan, who are strong in the mind arts. Capable of possessing ninja in battle or for interrogation.'

"Uchiha Sasuke..."

'Last of the Uchiha. The Uchiha have their Sharingan eyes capable of copying techniques.'

The teacher took a small pause and looked at the still presence of Naruto. "...Uzumaki Naruto..."

Naruto raised a hand. "Here."

Iruka's face tightened for only a second, but Mizuki glowered at Naruto with a look full of hatred.

'And I - container of the Kyuubi.'

'We should watch Mizuki. That man is dangerous.' Kyuubi cautioned.

'What about Iruka?'

'I think he is able to not let his emotions cloud his professional judgment.'

Iruka begun a boring lecture and Naruto zoned out in favor of talking to Kyuubi. 'There are seven clan heirs,' he mentally said.

'Yes. It's quite a coincidence.'

'And all of them have some sort of special ability or bloodline,' Naruto sighed. 'I wish I had one too.'

Kyuubi chuckled at the statement. 'It is true that they have an advantage over most students, but so do you. Due to my presence, you are stronger, faster; you can regenerate; you have enhanced senses; you have huge chakra reserves, enhanced mental abilities, and of course, you have me. If all these were a bloodline, it would be considered one of the stronger ones.'

'I know,' Naruto sighed. 'It would be nice if I could copy techniques with only a glance though. I have to train and train to learn a technique that an Uchiha can learn at a glance.'

'That is true, but you forget that not all techniques can be copied by the Sharingan. And your way of learning has one huge advantage. The more you practice a technique, the more efficient you are. For learning the truly powerful techniques that require massive amounts of chakra, the Sharingan has the advantage. For the smaller however, we are much better. Because weaker techniques require smaller amounts of chakra, you can make shadow clones for training. In only a week of training, you gain the training of several years. The advantage is that you can master the technique completely. This means no need for hand seals, no waste of chakra, speed. These things are impossible for the Sharingan to copy.'

'So the Sharingan allows them to copy all techniques, but they still need training to master them completely.'

'Indeed,' Kyuubi agreed. 'Since training in A or S ranked techniques usually require a lot of chakra, you will not be able to learn many of them, like an Uchiha can. However, you may be able to master a few of them and become proficient at a few of them. Your advantage lies not in learning many techniques, but in using them more efficiently.'

**-x-x-x-**

At noon, Naruto's class was on the Academy's training grounds.

Iruka shouted to get the students attention. "We'll have a few spars to gauge your skill. First... "

Naruto observed as Sakura and Ino were called first and started insulting each other.

"Ino-pig."

"Forehead girl."

The girls ran at each other and started slapping one another.

"Sasuke is mine!"

"No, he's mine! You don't deserve him."

Naruto shuddered at the display of incompetence. 'If Anko was in charge of their training, she'd rip their arms off and use them to slap the silliness out of them.'

Kyuubi chuckled. 'Before, you were just as incompetent.'

'I know,' Naruto sighed. 'But at least I didn't have competent teachers willing to teach me at the Academy. They did.

Two minutes later, Iruka stopped the match and called two more students.

'Well, these guys aren't much better than Sakura and Ino,' Naruto said.

"Next, Shikamaru and Chouji," Iruka said.

The two boys faced each other, Chouji eating chips and Shikamaru with a annoyed expression on his face.

"I give up," Shikamaru said.

"What? Why?" Iruka asked bewildered. "You haven't even started."

"It's too troublesome," Shikamaru answered.

"Very well," Iruka sighed. The Nara clan was famous for their brilliance and for their laziness. Next, the teacher called Hinata and another girl. Hinata did not attack and only defended against the flimsy kicks and punches the girl tried to give her. After her training with Naruto and Anko, such hits were easy to defend against.

"Very good. Next Shino and Sasuke."

When Sasuke took a fighting stance, all the girls except Hinata shouted encouragements as if they were cheerleaders.

Sasuke rushed to attack Shino.

'I don't see what's so special about him,' Naruto said to Kyuubi.

'Is my little Naruto-kun jealous?'

'I can kick his ass. All those fancy moves ... they're wasteful, especially against someone like Shino.'

'Indeed. Taijutsu is not one of the Aburame clan's good points, but it appears they developed a style good at defense.'

Though Sasuke managed to land a few hits, they were only glancing blows. For the audience, it looked like Sasuke was winning. In reality, if the battle continued, Sasuke would tire long before Shino.

"That's enough," Iruka called. "You did good, both of you.

Only two students remained.

"Naruto and Kiba, you're next."

Kiba walked cockily in front of Naruto. "So, you're new in our class. I heard you failed the exam. Heh, paired against the dobe of the class. This is going to be easy."

Naruto smiled slightly under his mask. 'I am going to enjoy this.'

"So, why are you wearing that mask and clothes?" Kiba asked. "I admit that it makes you look cool, but fancy clothes won't let you win in a fight against me."

"Begin," Iruka shouted.

Kiba rushed towards Naruto and tried to give him a right hand punch.

Naruto's right hand flashed forward, grabbed Kiba's wrist, diverting the hit and jerked backwards, unbalancing Kiba's body. The boy started to fall forwards and Naruto drove his knee in his gut and stepped backwards. Kiba fell to his knees, gasping.

Iruka looked impressed. "Very good Naruto," Iruka said. "That's all for today. Tomorrow, we'll have a weapons throwing test."

Naruto nodded and headed towards a smiling Hinata, ignoring the stares and whispers of the other children.

"What was that about?" Naruto asked Hinata a few minutes later, when they were alone.

"Shino, Kiba, and Sasuke are considered the strongest fighters in our class. They were surprised that he was defeated so easy," Hinata explained.

"I see. What about you? Aren't you among the strongest?"

"Between the girls, Sakura and Ino have the highest scores."

"What? Even before we started training you were stronger than those two."

"Thank you Naruto-kun. I did not like to fight, so I'm not considered that strong."

"Did not like to fight or do not like to fight?" Naruto said with a grin. While at first Hinata hated their spars, now Hinata got used to them and she actually begun to enjoy them, though she still hated to harm him.

Hinata smiled warmly. "If I can bring myself to harm you during our spars, I can certainly do the same to others."

**-x-x-x-**

When Naruto arrived home, lunch was already prepared by a clone.

Even if Naruto went to the Academy, that did not mean he stopped his usual daily program. Anko was away on a mission, so Naruto continued his training; mostly finishing mastering the techniques Anko gave him.

**-x-x-x-**

Next morning in the classroom, Hinata arrived before Naruto. She went into the back of the class and sat down in the same place she did the day before.

A few minutes later, Ino entered the class. She put her school supplies on her desk and headed towards Hinata. "Good morning, Hinata-san."

Hinata nodded politely. "Good morning Ino-san."

Ino sat next to Hinata, on the seat where Naruto sat the day before. "So, you know Naruto?"

Hinata nodded slightly. "I met him a few weeks ago. I train with him on occasion," Hinata lied smoothly, not wanting to make suspicious the blond girl on Hinata's true relationship with Naruto.

"Huh; he beat Kiba with only one hit. Not even Sasuke managed to beat Kiba so fast. I heard he didn't pass the Academy exam. If he didn't pass, how come he's so strong?"

"Naruto-kun used to have horrible chakra control. That's the main reason he failed," Hinata explained carefully, not wanting to enter into details that would bring to bear more questions.

The blond girl nodded. "So he has better control now?"

Hinata smiled slightly. "Yes. He found a sensei over the holiday and practiced a few exercises that help with chakra control."

"That's nice. But if he had so poor chakra control, why didn't his teachers from last year do something?" Ino asked with a frown.

Hinata's smile dropped and she sighed. "Naruto and the teachers are not on good terms. Naruto did not ask and the teachers said nothing."

"Oh. So why is he wearing that mask? Does he have some horrible scars?" Ino asked with relish.

"I don't know," Hinata shrugged annoyed by the question.

Ino blinked once and peered at Hinata with curiosity. "Say Hinata-san. I just noticed, but since we begun to talk, you haven't stuttered even once."

"I managed to cure it."

"Congratulations!"

"Thank you, Ino-san."

The door to the classroom opened and Sasuke entered.

Ino saw her crush and stood up. "Well, bye Hinata-san. I have to go and say hello to Sasuke-kun."

A few minutes later, Naruto entered the class and headed towards Hinata.

Just before Naruto passed Kiba's seat, the boy grinned at him. "Morning Naruto," he said.

Naruto stopped and turned towards Kiba. "Morning Kiba," he said with a nod, before continuing towards his seat.

Hinata looked at Naruto with a questioning look. "I thought Kiba would be upset about yesterday."

"Yeah, me too."

**-x-x-x-**

At noon, Iruka took his students outside. "Like I said yesterday, we'll do target practice today. Class line up. Shino, you're first..."

One by one, the students fired eight kunais at eight targets. Only Sasuke and Naruto remained.

"Sasuke..."

Sasuke walked in front of the targets. He launched his weapons one after another, hitting the center of his targets without fail.

"Very good Sasuke," Iruka said approvingly. "Naruto, you're next."

When Naruto and Sasuke passed each other, Sasuke gave him a superior, condescending smirk.

'What the hell was that?' Naruto grumbled silently.

'I believe it's time to show them a bit of what you're capable of,' Kyuubi said.

Naruto grinned under his mask and drew eight kunais, launching them at his targets simultaneously. Naruto hit his targets dead center, just like Sasuke did. The training his clones performed, truly gave results. Before Kyuubi, he could barely hit the targets; now, he almost as good as Tenten.

"Well done Naruto," Iruka said approvingly. "You get bonus points for throwing all kunais at the same time. You're in first place between the boys. Sasuke is second and Shino is third. Ino is first among the girls. Hinata is second and Sakura is third."

While most of the boys looked at Naruto approvingly, Sasuke and his fangirls looked quite disgruntled.

**-x-x-x-**

Hinata finished her duel with her little sister Hanabi, by incapacitating her hands with two precise strikes.

Hinata was always stronger than people thought. In the past, due to her unwillingness to harm others and her lack of self confidence, she usually lost most spars. However now, she was different. Having Naruto and Kyuubi changed her. In her spars with Naruto, she hurt him many times and he hurt her as well. She came to accept this as necessary for their progress. Now, when fighting her little sister, she no longer held back as much as she did. Before, she only defended ... poorly. Now, she used her lessons with Naruto and Anko. She still hated harming Hanabi, but she forced herself to do it. Even so, she always took care to injure her sister as little as she could.

"That's enough," Hiashi said. "Hanabi, you can go and rest."

Hanabi gave her father a small bow and her sister an unreadable look before leaving.

"Hinata."

"Yes, father?"

"I am glad you managed to finally begin to show your true potential. You have also grown up from your shyness." Hiashi fell silent for a few long moments. "Your academy teachers also say you progressed from your last year."

"Thank you, father," Hinata said politely. Before she met Naruto, she would have been overjoyed to receive her father's praise. She somehow felt a little glad, but also empty. It was a strange feeling.

"I understand you even made a friend ... Uzumaki Naruto."

"Yes father. I met him before the Academy started. He's been helping me with my gentle fist. He's able to recuperate from my hits very fast. Because of that, I asked him to spar with me on occasion."

"I see," Hiashi said. He looked at Hinata with a peculiar expression for a few seconds and gave Hinata a scroll. "This is a secret technique of the main branch: Eight Divination Signs, Sixty-Four Palms of the Hand. If you manage to learn it, I will give you another one. That is all," he said in dismissal.

**-x-x-x-**

Next morning, Hinata dressed, took her scroll and headed towards Naruto's home. As it was not a school day, Naruto would be home.

Strangely, there were no clones training. Hinata entered the house and headed towards the bedroom. "Naruto-kun? Kyuubi-chan?"

Naruto was asleep, but Kyuubi was awake. "Good morning, Hinata-chan," she said.

"Good morning Kyuubi-chan. Is Naruto feeling all right?" Hinata asked worriedly. "Usually, he's awake by now."

"He's fine, don't worry," Kyuubi grinned. "He's just tired. I barely managed to wake him long enough to send his solid clones to work before he fell asleep again."

"Oh; did you train him to exhaustion again?" Hinata asked.

"Well, he didn't train, but I certainly exhausted him," Kyuubi said with a lecherous grin.

"Oh," Hinata said, blushing.

"He won't be waking too soon." Kyuubi patted the bed invitingly. "Hop in!"

Hinata took off her clothes and crawled next to Kyuubi in only panties and a bra.

Kyuubi kissed Hinata and caressed her back with one hand. "You're too dressed," she whispered when she encountered the bra. After she took it off, Kyuubi rolled over Hinata and trailed kisses to the girl's breasts.

**-x-x-x-**

Anko entered Naruto's house and headed towards the kitchen. "I'm back, brat... Naruto?" Anko looked around, not seeing anyone. She shrugged, thinking with relish that her student decided to laze around the day she came back from her mission. "After I'm through with you, we'll see if you ever decide to skip on your training."

She headed towards the bedroom, opened the door and her previous thoughts were forgotten at the sight in front of her. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped, shrugged and watched with interest as the scene in front of her unfolded.

Hinata finally shuddered in release and Kyuubi raised her head from the girls' legs. "Did you enjoy it?" the daemon asked without looking back.

"Hell yeah!" Anko answered grinning. "Now, wake the brat. I'm hungry."

**-x-x-x-**

Naruto woke up and send two clones to prepare breakfast. He then kissed Kyuubi and the flushed Hinata. "I see you had a good morning."

Hinata smiled and rested her head on Naruto's chest. A minute later she sighed. "I had another spar with Hanabi."

"I see. What did your father say?"

"He was pleased by my progress. He cares more about the bloody clan than he cares about his daughters," she said sadly.

Kyuubi's hand snaked around Hinata, and she tenderly kissed the girl's shoulder. "Maybe he cares about you in his own way. As the leader of a powerful clan, he needs a powerful heir. Perhaps he is afraid that if you were to lead the clan and lacked power, you would not only be unable to protect the clan, but yourself."

"Maybe," Hinata sighed. "He gave me a scroll with a secret clan technique - Eight Divination Signs, Sixty-Four Palms of the Hand."

"Hmm, sounds interesting."

"Using the gentle fist style, I can force chakra through my hands into an opponent's tenketsu of his body, through 126 strikes. I have to strike 2 times, then 4, 8, 16, 32 and finally 64. This damage forcibly closes his tenketsu, stopping his chakra flow. This then limits the opponent's ability to use techniques," Hinata explained.

"Sounds hard."

Hinata nodded. "I don't think I have enough speed to fully use the technique."

"You will. You just need more training." Naruto sighed. "Let's go, breakfast is ready," he said when one of the clones he sent to prepare the food, dispersed to inform him.

**-x-x-x-**

When all four sat at the table, Anko raised an eyebrow at Naruto. "So your girlfriend really likes sharing."

Hinata turned red and ducked her head.

Naruto smiled, blue eyes sparkling. He was glad he was asleep when Anko arrived. He did not want to explain his red eyes, yet. It was better if Anko didn't know about that part until he could trust her fully. "Yeah ... are you going to tell the Hokage about this?" he asked.

Anko shook her head. "Nah; the old pervert might die on us if I did." Anko sighed unhappily at Kyuubi. "You're lucky. If only Kurenai-chan was as open as Hinata about things like this," she said with a sigh.

After they finished eating, they went outside. "So, why the hell are your clones not training?" Anko asked.

"I already finished mastering what you told me, so I took a short break. I already mastered the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique. My exploding clone technique is mastered as well. And I trained in your fighting style until I could learn no more from them. To progress further in it, I need more katas, movements or a sparring partner that's not me."

"I see. If we go on like this, in a few weeks your taijutsu will be as good as mine ..."

Naruto grinned at the praise.

"... in theory," she continued. "In practice, you are not fast or strong enough. You also lack my experience. No amount of training can supplant the experience of true combat. Do you understand?" At Naruto's nod, she continued. "Remember that many ninja lose their life when they grow too arrogant. You might be strong for a kid your age, but a Jounin or a chuunin who knew your weakness would have little problem with you. Remember that you can barely hit me when we're fighting. Got it, brat?"

"Yes Anko sensei," Naruto nodded soberly.

"Good," Anko said. "Now, make five hundred clones," she told Naruto.

Anko too, made a shadow clone. "You guys are with me," the clone said to the five hundred clones. "We're going to continue with taijutsu..."

A few moments later, after the crowd departed, Anko continued. "Naruto, I'm going to teach you another Ninjutsu - the Body Flicker Technique, a D ranked technique. The body flicker technique is a basic Ninjutsu technique. It enables you to appear and disappear in an instant, allowing you to retreat or attack suddenly. You can use nearby elements like leaves to mask your appearance or disappearance. Now, can you tell me how this technique can be adapted to your fighting style?"

"Yeah," Naruto said dreamily. "The most obvious is that if my clones use this technique, they can body flicker to quickly get near an enemy and explode or do other things."

"Good," Anko nodded and demonstrated the technique and explained how to perform it. "Now, make five hundred more clones and put them to work."

After the new clones departed, Anko frowned in thought. "And you two..."

"Um, Anko-sensei," Hinata interrupted the special Jounin. "My father gave me a scroll on a family technique: Eight Divination Signs, Sixty-Four Palms of the Hand."

"Really? That's a pretty powerful technique." Anko grinned bloodthirstily at Naruto. "Well, that settles it. Naruto, make four clones."

Four clones appeared and looked at Anko fearfully.

Anko smiled innocently at Naruto. "You'll be Hinata's practice dummy, since this technique needs a live target if Hinata wants to learn it fast."

"Okay," Naruto said dully.

The four clones shifted uncomfortably, wondering what Anko had in store for them. "What about us?" one of them managed to ask.

"You guys will be my personal servants for today; ... and Kyuubi's," Anko said glancing at the daemon.

"Yes!" the clones shouted in unison and dashed towards the house.

"This technique is pretty hard," Anko said. "Because of that, you'll stay as a defenseless target at least until Hinata begins to learn its rudiments. Got it?" she asked Naruto.

"Defenseless target; got it," Naruto sighed.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun," Hinata said and looked down.

Naruto raised her chin and gave her a quick kiss. "There's nothing to be sorry. If you do, then you'll have to reward me after we finish training, okay?" he said quietly.

"Yes Naruto-kun," she said smiling brightly.

"If you are through with the touchy moment, get to work," Anko ordered.

"Yes Anko-sensei."

Hinata entered a fighting stance and Naruto prepared himself.

"Eight Divination Signs, Sixty-Four Palms of the Hand." Hinata rushed towards Naruto. "Two..."

"Only two," Anko said, watching the failed technique. "This will take a while."

Fifteen minutes later, the four clones that dashed in the house, returned with two comfy armchairs, a table and two bowls of food.

Anko gave Kyuubi a questioning glance, but the red-haired girl shrugged. Both sat in the armchairs and sighed in pleasure as two clones started to rub their shoulders. Another two were feeding the two girls slices of fruits.

Naruto was once again the victim of Hinata's technique. He glared balefully at the clones who were relishing their task. It certainty beat getting pummeled by Hinata. The clones smiled cheekily and continued in their task.

By the end of the day, Hinata managed to complete the first level of the technique and was working on the second.

"You need more speed," Anko proclaimed.

"What do I have to do?" Hinata asked.

"Train more," Anko said shrugging.

**-x-x-x-**

**Author's notes**: About my use of "daemon" over "demon". I just like it better.

Another thing... about Iruka and Naruto's brotherly relation. Since in canon Naruto reminded Iruka of himself so much, there was a connection between them. However, my Naruto is a little more mature. He does not appear as a lonely child yearning for companionship. This will somewhat change the way Iruka views Naruto.

_Thank you for reading and reviewing._

_**Please review. Any input would be appreciated.**_

Published: January 20 2009.

-voider-

-x-x-x-


	6. Chapter 6 Fight me

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 6.**

**Fight me.**

**-x-x-x-**

Naruto's class was again taken outside for another test.

Naruto was thankful that it was not another written test. Those were the most boring, especially now since all the questions were too easy.

"Class, be quiet and line up," shouted Iruka.

The children stilled themselves, wondering about what new test they had to pass.

Iruka nodded in satisfaction as his students looked at him with questioning looks on their faces. "Today we'll have an obstacle track. Your mission is to find Mizuki, who is in a position approximately two kilometers in that direction," Iruka pointed at the dense forest. "Keep in mind that there are many traps between here and your objective." Iruka fell silent for a long moment. "Go," he said.

Some of the students rushed immediately into the forest, on a straight path to their destination. Among them were Naruto, Sasuke, Kiba, Shino and Hinata. Others took a slightly different direction, hoping that their roundabout path would have fewer traps.

Only Shikamaru remained.

Iruka frowned at his laziest student. "Shikamaru, I said go!"

"Yes sensei," the lazy boy sighed and walked slowly into the tree line. "This is so troublesome," he mumbled.

As soon as Naruto entered the forest, he made a hand sign to create ten clones and sent them ahead.

Hinata, her Byakugan active, rushed to Naruto and fell in behind him. Thanks to Hinata's eyes and Naruto's clones, they were the first to find Mizuki.

The professor raised an eyebrow as one clone found him into a clearing and dispelled itself. Soon after that, Naruto and Hinata arrived. Hinata was breathing heavily, but Naruto was unperturbed with the effort.

"Sensei," Naruto nodded politely, "are we the first to find you?"

Mizuki stared at the boy for a few seconds, and then nodded. "Yes Uzumaki, you are the first," he said neutrally, writing something on a notebook.

Naruto nodded, headed to a tree stump and sat down on it. Hinata sat next to him, still breathing heavily.

A minute later, Sasuke landed in the clearing, a superior smirk on his face. He clenched his teeth and glowered when he saw Naruto and Hinata sitting on the tree stump. He looked like he was about to say something to them, but Kiba and Akamaru ran into the clearing. Sasuke calmed down and rested his back on a tree, feigning unconcern. Shino was next. A few more students arrived.

Iruka appeared into the clearing and headed toward Mizuki.

Surprisingly, Shikamaru arrived behind Ino and Sakura. The two girls headed towards Sasuke and congratulated him on his victory. Sasuke's face darkened and he tuned them out.

A few minutes later, all of the students arrived.

Iruka looked at his students. "You did very well. Now, for the rankings ... Naruto and Hinata were the first to arrive." The fan girls were stunned. "The second to arrive was Sasuke and the third was Kiba." Iruka made a small pause before continuing, but he was stopped by a shout of outrage.

"Why are Naruto and Hinata first? Why isn't Sasuke first?" Sakura glowered at the pair who watched the proceedings.

Hinata wore the bland, superior Hyuuga face. A few months ago, Hinata would have stammered an apology under the pink haired girl's stare. Thanks to Naruto, the girl couldn't care less of her opinion. Naruto and Kyuubi were her universe and she would not let herself be intimidated by someone who scorned Naruto's abilities; abilities for which he trained till exhaustion.

Naruto on the other hand, just rolled his eyes under his mask. 'I can't believe I used to like her,' he thought to himself. 'Does she think Sasuke is some sort of god?'

"Yeah," said another fan girl. "Sasuke is the best. They must have cheated."

"Sensei, I saw Naruto create some sort of clones," another girl piped out. "I think they were solid."

Sakura's eyes hardened and she pointed an accusing finger at Hinata. "Yeah, and Hinata used her eyes to see the traps. And unlike Sasuke who completed his mission by himself, they teamed up. It's not fair. They cheated!"

Virtually all girls nodded in condemnation of Naruto. The boys however, were sick and tired of fan girls.

Naruto was happy Kyuubi managed to get rid of his temper... mostly that is. He still had problems, but something like this only amused him now. "Iruka-sensei never said that we are forbidden from working together," he said calmly. "He also said nothing about forbidding the use of ninjutsu or bloodline limits,"

The girls begun to grumble.

"Quiet!" Iruka shouted.

Naruto looked in interest at the man. Had this happened a year before, Naruto had no doubt his former teachers would have agreed with Sakura. While Naruto could feel the hidden loathing coming from Mizuki, both he and Iruka had a cool, yet professional attitude towards Naruto. Naruto had no idea why they were ... fair with him. He had the suspicion that the Hokage had something to do with it. Naruto could only hope they would continue.

"I am very disappointed in you girls," Iruka finally said. "What Naruto said was very true. In fact, we, leaf nin pride ourselves on our teamwork. It is in fact the cornerstone on which our village is build. As Naruto said, I said nothing about not using your clan techniques, if you have any. If you graduate and become shinobi and kunoichi, you will have to trust your teammates with your life and you must use any advantage to complete your mission, be they bloodline limits, clan techniques or even simple tricks. That is all; class dismissed."

At Iruka's words, the students begun to leave until only Sasuke, Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, Ino and the two teachers were left.

Sasuke walked towards Naruto from the spot he was resting on. "Fight me."

"Huh?" Naruto asked.

"Fight me," Sasuke repeated.

Naruto didn't know much about the boy in front of him. One thing was clear though: Sasuke was not the most stable person around. He seemed concerned only with having strength. It probably had something to do with revenge for his defunct clan. Beside these, Sasuke was also as arrogant as the entire Hyuuga clan put together.

Naruto stared at the boy, wondering about the best way to get rid of the self-centered brat. He could not stomach loosing a fight with the boy, but if he won, Sasuke probably would keep coming until Naruto lost.

"No," Naruto answered. He could at least postpone the confrontation.

"Fight me."

"I said no."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and launched himself at Naruto.

Naruto prepared himself to block the attack, but before the two boys met, Hinata struck Sasuke twice, disabling his arms. The boy was so shocked by the sudden attack that he didn't even try to dodge the following gentle fist strikes from Hinata and he fell down, unable to move.

The Uchiha looked at Hinata with an incredulous expression, unable to comprehend that the shy Hyuuga girl incapacitated him.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura and Ino shouted in concern rushing to his side.

Suddenly, Iruka was there to check Sasuke. The man's lips twitched slightly as he did so.

Sasuke glanced between Iruka, Hinata and Naruto with an incredulous expression on his face.

"Don't worry Sasuke," Iruka said. "You will recover in a few hours. You know, you didn't have to attack Naruto now to test your skills against his. The next time we have taijutsu spars, I was planning to have you two fight. I guess I should take you to the hospital to check you even if you will recover by yourself. Better safe than sorry." Iruka grabbed Sasuke and they disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Mizuki too walked away.

Sakura gave Naruto and Hinata a dirty look before rushing in the direction of the hospital.

Only Ino, Naruto and Hinata remained in the clearing.

"You hurt Sasuke-kun," Ino said softly.

Both Naruto and Hinata cocked their heads as if to ask, "so what?"

The blond girl made a strange hand seal. "You'll pay for hurting Sasuke-kun! Mind Body Change Technique!"

Naruto smirked under his mask as Ino's mind tried to suppress his own. Unfortunately for Ino, she could not defeat the alert and prepared mind of both Naruto and Kyuubi and Ino was ejected back into her body.

Naruto watched the collapsed Ino. "Had you done a surprise attack, without alerting me, you might have succeeded. Your technique only works on week, untrained and unprepared minds," Naruto said before grabbing Hinata and disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

Ino narrowed her eyes at the swirl of leaves left by Naruto's departure. "We'll see about that," she whispered.

**-x-x-x-**

While in previous years Naruto understood nothing from the teacher's lessons, now he found them too easy.

Unlike most children, Naruto was always alone until he met Kyuubi. He had no one except the Hokage, the ramen stand owner and his daughter to answer his questions. However, when he saw the latter two, he was too preoccupied with ramen to ask them anything. The only one who answered some of his questions was the Hokage. Unfortunately, he rarely talked more than once a month with the old man. He managed to find answers to a few of his questions, but that was too little. Naruto, like any other child needed many things explained. If at least the children his age talked to him, his mind would have grown, but all of the children were told to keep away from him. If Naruto would have been allowed to have regular contact with other people, he would have learned a few things, but he was shunned, so he learned almost nothing. Since Naruto had no source of education, his mind was stunted. Concepts normal for a child his age were completely alien to him. At school, his teachers ignored him. Years passed, and Naruto got used to not knowing things. He could barely read, and he only understood things if they were slowly explained using very simple words. While he was thirteen, his mind was no older than the mind of a seven year's old.

Thankfully, when he met Kyuubi, his deficiencies were remedied. The first books he was told to read were books for small children. Suddenly, new ideas and concepts were revealed. Naruto continued reading. When he found a word he did not understand, he checked the dictionary. After his basic reading skills were remedied, he continued reading; he even read the dictionary. Thanks to the enhanced mental abilities he received from Kyuubi and her ability to properly sort the huge amount of information, he rarely needed to read something more than once. His mind grew by leaps and bounds.

Another thing that helped in his mental development was the clones who worked. These social skills helped him immensely.

Naruto was now the proud owner of a reasonably intelligent mind who knew more theory than some educated chuunin.

While Iruka's theoretical lessons were mostly covered by Naruto's clones who studied Academy and genin manuals, he still got some use from the lessons.

The most helpful lessons were the practical ones. Naruto had almost no skills before meeting Kyuubi. The only thing Naruto was proficient was in traps, stealth and evasion, and he only put them to use when he was doing pranks. While Kyuubi and Anko's training managed to rectify many of his deficiencies, he still had many gaps in his practical knowledge. Thanks to Iruka's fairness and Naruto's newly discovered intelligence, he was learning the things he never got to learn.

One of the things Naruto was taught by both Anko and Kyuubi is that shinobi must not draw attention to themselves, nor should they let their enemies know of their true skills. That of course did not mean that he should hide all of his skills; it merely meant that he should pretend to be less skilled in some areas. While things like his taijutsu and ninjutsu techniques would be found out sooner or later, that did not mean he should let slip his skill to perform some of his ninjutsu without hand seals. Having such an advantage might save him in the future, or at least give him an advantage.

Another thing he decided to hide was his theoretical knowledge and his ability to learn and process large amounts of data. It would be foolish to let such an ability known. As such, he decided to answer wrong to some of the questions to his written tests. After all, these tests were a matter of public record. While Naruto had no problem with Anko and the Hokage knowing about his abilities, letting other know about them would be dangerous.

Another reason for hiding his skills was that the Uchiha was not the sanest person around. Kyuubi did not want Naruto to "steal" the boy's rookie of the year title. If he did, the Uchiha would become even more of an annoyance with his "I'm an Uchiha, therefore I am superior" attitude.

**-x-x-x-**

Hinata and Naruto appeared in a swirl of leaves in front of his house. They ignored the many clones that trained and entered the house to prepare lunch for four.

Half an hour later, Anko arrived ignoring both Naruto and Hinata and begun wolfing down the food. Naruto summoned Kyuubi and they all begun to eat. Even if Kyuubi could draw no nourishment from the food, she still enjoyed it.

Since Naruto read so many cook books and had a few clones working at various restaurants across Konoha, he was a reasonable cook and his fridge and kitchen was always full. Naruto always had clones around the house, so even if Naruto was somewhere else, Anko could always tell one of his clones to prepare some food. The fact was that Anko took full advantage of Naruto's offer of feeding her in exchange for training, so she usually ate at Naruto's or at one of the locals where one of Naruto's clones worked.

While most of the girls Naruto's age ate small quantities of food, Naruto, Hinata and Anko ate for ten people due to their intense training program. Also, Naruto had to feed the constant stream of fox summonings. Fortunately, with all of Naruto's jobs, he had enough money.

After they finished eating, Naruto told Anko about his day at the Academy.

"So why didn't you dodge Yamanaka's attack," Anko asked. "Those are pretty slow. There's no way you could have not been able to dodge."

"I wanted to experience it then, when Hinata was with me and Ino was alone, rather than later when I might have been alone and outnumbered," Naruto shrugged.

Anko nodded at the answer thoughtfully. "Fair enough, but what if you didn't manage to overpower her mind?"

Naruto shrugged.

"In a way, you did the right thing," Anko sighed. "I don't think you were in any true danger and it was better to test it while you had Hinata with you. But if you'd been in true combat, then that would have been one of the stupidest things to do."

Naruto winced and Anko was silent for a long moment. "While your growth rate is impressive, you're still acting stupid. I think it's time to have this talk; it's time for you to see how our world works," Anko grumbled. "You need to know that this world is dangerous and a small mistake can cost not only your life, but the life of your comrades. This is something my former sensei told me. He's a sociopath and a monster, but he's the greatest genius to come from Konoha, so as loath as am I do admit it, I should tell you what he told me."

"Naruto and Hinata were surprised. Anko almost never talked about her former sensei Orochimaru. Naruto heard some things from gossip, but it was hard to separate the truth from the lies. All he knew for sure was that Anko was Orochimaru's student, that he gave her some kind of seal and that with the exception of a select few she was viewed as a traitor and a danger to Konoha."

"This will be a long lecture, so get comfortable," Anko said. "There are five great shinobi nations. Each of them are usually led by an S ranked Kage. These nations are Fire, Wind, Earth, Lightning and Water. There are other villages, smaller and weaker; most of them have no S ranked nin, or if they do, they have at most one or two. Konoha for instance, has at present three S ranked nin: the Hokage, Jiraiya and Tsunade. We also have two S ranked missing nin: Orochimaru and Itachi. Each one of these S ranked nin is a true powerhouse. As long as they are unopposed by another S ranked nin, they can lay waste to an entire village. As an example, we have Itachi who slaughtered his clan."

"There are five ranks of ninja: Academy level, genin, chuunin, Jounin and Kage level. Each rank is on a whole different level than the next. For example, usually, a Kage should be able to defeat a certain number of Jounin, let us say ten. A Jounin is on a different level than a chuunin and a chuunin is on a different level than a genin."

"This usually means that lower ranks going against a higher rank is suicide. However, things are not always so cut and dried. The lower ranked can have some sort of advantage: like surprise or a team that works well." Anko paused for a moment and stared at Naruto. "Or they can have a bloodline, or special technique like the Yamanaka has. Even a genin can kill a Jounin in cases like this, especially if the higher ranked is overconfident in his abilities."

"Konoha nin killed many enemies like this. Overall leaf ninja are weaker and not as well trained as ninja from other villages. However, we have one great advantage: Konoha loves its bloodlines and clans and we pursued a policy of attracting and keeping them. In Water, those who carry bloodlines were slaughtered. Wind and Earth have few bloodlines. Only Lightning has the same love of bloodlines, though they go about it in a different manner. Unlike Konoha who try to be as attractive to bloodline carriers, Lightning is openly unscrupulous about their way of acquiring them." Anko looked at Hinata. "You should know," she told the Hyuuga girl. "They tried to kidnap you for the Byakugan. Since bloodline carriers are treated like some sort of slaves in Lightning, those who carry them try to stay almost as far from Lightning as from Water. This leaves Konoha with the highest amount of bloodline carriers."

"This gives Konoha nin a great advantage. For example, any Hyuuga is very strong in taijutsu and they are excellent scouts. Inuzuka are great trackers and their bond with their nin-dogs give them enhanced senses, speed, strength, stamina and their clan techniques are very strong. The Aburame are also good scouts and trackers and their allies are very powerful."

"All members of these clans, even genins are as good at scouting and tracking as any Jounin."

"All of those who belong into a clan have at least one skill in which they are very good."

"When a enemy nin fights with a Konoha nin of the same rank, the Konoha nin, if he is part of a clan can use those techniques."

"Ninja from other villages think Konoha nin are weak. Unfortunately, that is half true. Konoha is the strongest village and it has grown complacent. From what you told me, most of your female classmates are brainless fan girls. The academy standard would make the other villages laugh. In a way, it's understandable. Most Academy students benefit from training from their own clans."

"Getting back to topic, one of the greatest enemy for a ninja is overconfidence. You never know when you will come face to face with someone who has a certain advantage like a bloodline. Sooner or later, you will come face to face to someone like that. You can even be a Kage and your opponent a genin. If you are not careful and your opponent has a bloodline that melts your brain when he touches you or when he looks funnily at you, then you will die."

"There is also the fact that while your opponent may have a lower rank than you, or appear weaker, looks can be deceiving. If we take you Naruto as an example, you can give most chuunins a run for their money and you're not even a genin. Also there are many things that matter in a fight. The ranks of genin, chuunin or Jounin are only approximations of strength. There are many different skills that a ninja can have. Any one of them can decide your fate in battles. While some are more important than others, none are useless. For example: your opponent is more powerful than you, but if you are good at stealth and traps, you can kill him without coming face to face. Another example: your opponent is stronger. If you are good at infiltration and assassination, you can poison him or put a knife in his back without having to fight him. Another way: if you are good at torture and interrogation, you capture someone who knows about your opponent, a subordinate, teammate or something. You find out your opponent's weakness and use it against him."

"You can have the strongest Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu skills; strength, speed and stamina, but if you are stupid and careless, you'll find yourself poisoned or stabbed in the back by some pretty lady. If you have a weakness, it will be exploited. If you have an advantage, sooner or later someone will find a way around it. You are proficient at ninjutsu? They will engage you in taijutsu. You are good at Taijutsu? They will use Genjutsu. You are strong? They will be faster. You are fast? They will have more stamina. You have more chakra? They will evade until you are exhausted. You do not know how to fight a sword user? They'll come at you with swords. You are nice and like to help people? They will use that to trick you. You are inexperienced? They will find it easier to find a strategy to defeat you. Your enemies will try assassination, poison, lies and trickery; they'll use traps and throw weapons at you. We are ninja. There is no such thing as fairness. Your enemies will always use unfair tactics against you. If you are careless, you die. Do you understand?"

Naruto nodded soberly. "Overconfidence gets you killed. Stupidity gets you killed. Weaknesses in any area can lead to death. It is good to have an advantage in a certain area, but there is always a way to work around it."

Anko nodded. "In time all ninja learn that there is more to being a ninja than flashy techniques and we all learn from our mistakes."

"One more thing that you must keep in mind is that even the strongest Kage or a Biju can be defeated by a Jounin through the use of suicide techniques."

"The most important ninja skills a ninja can have are hand seals, Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, intelligence, force, speed, stamina and chakra," Anko said. "If I were to rank you ... let's see."

"For hand seals, Naruto is high genin and Hinata is low genin."

"Ninjutsu: Naruto is high genin and Hinata is low genin."

"Taijutsu: Naruto is mid genin and Hinata is high genin."

"Genjutsu: Naruto is Academy level and Hinata is low genin."

"Intelligence: Naruto is chuunin level and Hinata is high genin."

"Force: Naruto is high genin and Hinata is Academy level."

"Speed: Both of you are at genin level."

"Stamina and Chakra: Naruto is high Jounin approaching low Kage and Hinata is high Academy level."

"While all these are very important, there are other skills. Some are more important and other less. However any skill can give you an advantage in battle. Some of these ... skills are: chakra control, elemental manipulation, med skills, Kinjutsu, ranged weapons, assassination, torture and interrogation, scouting, tracking, stealth, traps, infiltration, survival skills, knowledge, sealing (fuuinjutsu), experience, reputation."

Both Naruto and Hinata raised an eyebrow at the last skill, but said nothing.

"For Hinata: your chakra control is at chuunin level; med skills are at high genin; ranged weapons at genin level; scouting at Jounin level; tracking at chuunin level; stealth, traps and knowledge at genin level; sealing low genin, experience at low genin."

"For Naruto: your chakra control and med skills are at genin level; ranged weapons at chuunin level; scouting and tracking at Jounin level; stealth at high chuunin; traps at high genin; infiltration, survival skills and knowledge at chuunin; sealing at low genin; experience at genin level thanks to me; and unfortunately you do have a reputation."

"Reputation is a double edged knife. If you have no reputation, your opponents don't know your weaknesses or your strong points. If you do have a reputation, your opponents are more likely to know information about you. While this is usually a bad thing, you can turn it into an advantage. For example everybody thinks I am insane and bloodthirsty," she grinned. "That means that even elite Jounin would avoid a fight with me. The Yondaime was said to be so strong that at his appearance at the site of a battle, his enemies would flee. Sometimes reputation can save you of a lot of trouble. Unfortunately, with reputation come other problems. There will always be people who will try to kill you as a way to prove their strength or gain fame."

Naruto and Hinata nodded solemnly.

Anko fell silent for a moment, and then she continued. "There is a reason I am training you two the way I am. To continue our lesson, the same way a Jounin is a whole level above a chuunin, an A ranked technique is a whole level above a B ranked technique. Usually the chakra expended for an A ranked technique is about ten times higher than the chakra expended for a B ranked technique. Again, note that I said usually. Techniques are ranked based on a few criteria: first it is based on chakra consumption. There are other criteria: chakra control, learning difficulty, destructive force, the number of people who are familiar with the technique, the number of people that can learn the technique. Some techniques result in the death or harm to the one who performed the technique so their rank gets much higher."

"It is because of this that Naruto's clones can practice E-ranked techniques the whole day. As it is now, your clones can master an E ranked technique in a few days. A D-ranked technique will be mastered in a matter of weeks, a C-ranked technique will be mastered in months and it will take years to master a B-ranked technique. (The exception seems to be the shadow clone, summoning techniques and techniques derived from them. You appear to master them faster than I thought. It is probably because of Kyuubi, I think.) Again, this is an approximation. You can master them faster if your chakra control and capacity grows and improves. It will also help if you have an elemental affinity. For example, if you have a fire affinity, you will be able to learn fire techniques faster. Another factor is experience, knowledge and intelligence."

"Anyway... that's about all for today, now scram to training," Anko finished.

**-x-x-x-**

The Naruto clones who worked as hunters arrived home after a hard day's work. One of the ways they helped, beside the steady income, was that every day the clones would bring back some of the game they hunted.

As the foxes that acted as sentries and guards over Naruto's home usually ate things like meat in its raw form or cooked, there was a constant need for fresh meet.

Since buying large quantities of meat from the village was a bit expensive, even if the one who was doing the buying did not look like Naruto, the hunters brought home fresh meet from their hunts.

Fortunately, the summoned foxes were not very large, so they didn't eat too much.

As a matter of fact, summoned foxes were small compared to other summons. While the three legendary summons of Konoha: the slugs, snakes and toads were very powerful and were primarily used for battle, the foxes were used more for scouting, guarding, tracking and transport. The foxes could still be used for battle, but any of the three legendary bosses would dwarf the fox boss not only in size, but also in strength and power.

A fox greeted the hunters and one of the clones stopped, took out a scroll and gave it to one of his partners and started petting the small fox.

The rest of the clones entered the house, went into the kitchen, put their scrolls on a table and dispelled themselves.

**-x-x-x-**

In the middle of the night, a figure entered the work room of the Yamanaka clan head. The figure approached and sat on the chair behind the desk. After a few minutes of careful searching, the figure found a scroll. She bit her finger, wiped it on the scroll and opened it.

Inside was an advanced form of the Mind Body Change Technique which was only taught to Jounin level nin. The less advanced one was taught to clan members after they entered the Academy and was much safer to use. Using the advanced form was dangerous for an untrained mind.

Ino Yamanaka smiled and started to read it.

**-x-x-x-**

**Author's Notes**: Hope the infodump was okay.

Next chapter: What is Ino going to do? What will happen when she does whatever she's planning to do? How will Hiashi react to hearing Hinata put Sasuke in the hospital?

Surprised the fox summons are not very strong? Don't worry, they're still useful.

Some clarifications, question and answers.

About the amount of gore, blood, death, swearing, etc ... some want more. Rest assured that there will be more. There is a reason I named this fic "Naruto Unchained." At the moment, Naruto still wants to be Hokage; he still loves his village; he still wants to protect it and the villagers ... kind of. He still sees the world in black and white. He's nice, kind, self-sacrificing and all that rot. I will not make Naruto evil, but I plan to teach him some cynicism and self-preservation ... the hard way.

Why doesn't Anko teach Hinata some techniques? Because Hinata needs to improve her taijutsu and her clan techniques more than anything. The time for her to learn new techniques will come, but not now. Naruto on the other hand, has enough chakra and clones to learn more than one thing at the same time.

In regards to whether or not Naruto will go sage mode or sign the toad summoning contract ... there is a reason I gave Naruto the fox summoning scroll.

(There is also a reason I gave Naruto some of Kyuubi's foxy traits.)

Will there be bashing? A large reason for bashing is that in canon, Naruto loved and trusted his teammates - Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi who were not good teammates and thru their action and/or inaction, they betrayed Naruto.

(However, I do dislike these three ... a lot. Surprisingly, I dislike Sasuke the least from these three. Yes he's emo; yes he tried to kill Naruto; yes he's a self-centered sociopath and a narcissist with delusions of grandeur, but what can you expect? Itachi, his brother/god slaughtered his clan and scrambled his brains.)

Naruto will probably never be friends with these three and he'll not make a promise to bring Sasuke back.

Canon Naruto is helplessly ... naïve? My Naruto will change; slowly, but surely.

So _in a way_, there'll be fewer reasons for bash.

_Thank you for reading and reviewing._

_**Please review. Any input would be appreciated.**_

Published: February 21 2009.

-voider-

**-x-x-x-**


	7. Chapter 7 Mind

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 7.**

**Mind.**

**-x-x-x-**

Naruto's Academy teachers took the class outside on the training ground.

"Today, we'll have another taijutsu spar," Iruka announced.

The chuunin called the students by pairs and had them spar against each other.

Naruto ignored most of them, but watched the clan heirs' matches.

The Nara boy gave up on his match. Chouji fought against one of the civilian kids and won quickly. While the boy was not very fast, he was quite strong. Kiba and Shino got paired together. Since the Aburame's weakness and the Inuzuka's strength was taijutsu, Kiba won the match.

When it was time for Naruto and Sasuke's match, the dark haired sneered at Naruto and rushed forward after Iruka gave the signal to begin.

The boy was using the Uchiha clan fighting style. It required speed and agility, and Sasuke had them quite developed compared to a normal Academy student. Fortunately, it was not higher than Hinata's.

Three months earlier, Sasuke would have mopped the floor with Naruto, but many things changed since that time. First, thanks to Kyuubi, similarly to an Inuzuka, his senses, speed, strength and reaction time were much better. Second, he ate plenty of healthy food and exercised his body. And third, he now knew a good taijutsu style, and thanks to his clones, he had plenty of practice with it.

Sasuke, while very strong, was not on the same level with his brother, Itachi who became an ANBU captain at the age of thirteen. He also lacked the Sharingan. Without it, Sasuke was a normal, if skilled student. His fighting style was designed to take advantage of the Sharingan, and the boy didn't have it.

Sasuke attacked Naruto furiously, but Naruto managed to dodge and slap all his punches and kicks aside. Since Naruto was used to sparring with Hinata, who was as fast as Sasuke and was proficient in the gentle fist, Naruto didn't find it too difficult to not get hit.

Sasuke was getting frustrated by his lack of success, and with a growl, he launched a wild spinning kick at Naruto.

Naruto dodged under the kick, grinning inwardly as Sasuke lost his cool and provided him with the perfect opening. Just as Sasuke realized his mistake, Naruto dashed forward and met Sasuke's spinning torso with a blow to the ribs, followed by one to the head. Fortunately for the young Uchiha, he managed to dodge the second hit and jumped back, grimacing at the pain. Nothing was broken, but Sasuke thought that he might need a few days until he fully recovered.

"How?" Sasuke demanded and the girls begun to mutter among themselves.

Seeing that Sasuke was holding his chest in obvious pain, Iruka stopped the match and told Mizuki to take Sasuke to the infirmary.

With a final glare, Sasuke left with the chuunin and Iruka called the name of two girls.

Naruto ignored the rest of the matches until Hinata's turn came. She was paired with Sakura.

The pink haired girl glared at Naruto - who beat the boy she loved and Hinata who also incapacitated Sasuke on a different occasion.

When Iruka gave the signal to begin, Sakura threw herself at Hinata as if she was trying to murder her.

Unfortunately for the girl who was trying to get revenge on behalf of her crush, Hinata was probably the second strongest student after Naruto and the strongest girl in class. Ino was second and Sakura was third, but they, (like the rest of the girls), didn't take their shinobi career too seriously, barely trained and ate far too little for a growing kunoichi.

The result was a paralyzed Sakura.

**-x-x-x-**

After Hinata left to the Hyuuga compound for training with her father and sister, Naruto headed into the forest, still congratulating himself for defeating the Uchiha. So caught up was he into his victory that he failed to sense his attacker hidden behind a tree. Naruto collapsed to the ground when the Jounin level technique hit him.

**-x-x-x-**

_Ino saw herself stabbed after she failed her genin exam. She woke up in a sewer and saw the giant body of the Kyuubi no Yoko. As her body begun talking with the giant fox, she realized what happened. These were Naruto's memories and she was reliving them. She, he was the container for the Kyuubi no Yoko! Ino watched in fascination as Naruto and Kyuubi talked. She felt her guilt - the boy's guilt, her fear that she really was a monster. Surprisingly, it was the Kyuubi that shook her from the depressing thoughts. She made a pact with the daemon. _

_She woke up, found herself in a hospital and she talked with the old man - the Hokage. Part of her felt betrayed he didn't take better care of her. Another part still cared for the only person who showed her any affection. _

_With the help of Kyuubi, she managed to convince the old man to give her a better house._

_There, the Kyuubi taught her how to make shadow clones. She told her how to buy things without getting robbed and receiving low quality goods._

_She begun to learn; at first, how to read; then how to control her chakra; she made solid clones who learned and worked. She trained._

_She saw her hands glowing with pink light as they caressed Hinata's back._

_She gave Kyuubi the same massage and they made love. She was so happy when she was held in her embrace - the first embrace she ever had, when she kissed the red haired daemon, washing away years of loneliness. Even if she was not human, she loved her._

_And then, Hinata. She was someone who was like her - hated and despised by her own clan. She felt and saw their first time together, her flushed body under her own. How she called her name between moans. How she vowed to protect Hinata - the second person she truly loved._

_She relived the time spent together with the two people that quickly became the center of her universe._

_She convinced Anko, who was hated by the village for being Orochimaru's apprentice, to train them. She felt close to the Special Jounin due to their common backgrounds, she was happy that she now had another person she cared for and returned her feelings._

**-x-x-x-**

Then, Ino Yamanaka opened her eyes into complete darkness. The girl heard a sound behind her and she turned around to see Kyuubi in her human form. "Kyuubi," she whispered. The first impulse she had was to run at her and kiss her. She fought it and quashed the alien feelings. 'I am not Naruto,' she thought. 'I am Ino. I don't love Kyuubi. I don't love Hinata. I love Sasuke.'

"Ino," Kyuubi purred.

Ino brought her hands together to dispel the technique. "I'm going to tell the Hokage," she said.

"He already knows," Kyuubi said quickly.

Ino narrowed her eyes. "You're lying."

"No I'm not. Look," Kyuubi said.

**-x-x-x-**

_Ino blinked as she saw and felt the memory of the meeting between Kyuubi and the Hokage._

**-x-x-x-**

"It doesn't matter," Ino shook her head and narrowed her eyes. "Does he know about ... Hinata?"

"Anko knows."

"So he doesn't," Ino said with narrowed eyes.

"I do not know if she told him," Kyuubi shrugged. "I don't see what's wrong about it."

"Well, for starters, they're minors."

Kyuubi raised a delicate eyebrow and chuckled softly. "From my point of view, all humans are minors compared to me. Thirteen, twenty-three or one hundred and three years, that's still eons younger than I am. To daemons, physical age means little."

"You're still corrupting them," Ino snarled. "You're taking advantage of them."

Kyuubi cocked her head in question. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not stupid," Ino sneered. "You think I don't realize what you're trying to accomplish? You're trying to turn them away from the village, making them love you more than Konoha. I've seen enough of Naruto's memories to realize you're slowly trying to convince him and Hinata to stop caring about the village. You're trying to make them care more about you than Konoha by taking advantage of their loneliness."

At the accusation, Kyuubi simply nodded.

"You admit it?" Ino said incredulously.

"Of course. Why shouldn't I?"

"Why shouldn't you? You're trying to make them betray the village!"

"No, I'm not."

"You just admitted it," Ino said hotly. "You can't deny it now."

"I am teaching them that loyalty and love is earned. As long as the village ... treats them fairly, they will not betray them," Kyuubi said with an amused quirk of her lips.

"Whatever," Ino said. "I don't understand why Naruto trusts you - a daemon. Anyway, I'm leaving, and after this I'll go straight to the Hokage ..."

"Did you not come here for a reason, Yamanaka? What you've seen so far is only the tip. Look deeper ..."

**-x-x-x-**

_Ino blinked and she saw a woman feeding her strange-tasting milk. More such scenes replayed in front of her eyes. She felt sick when she drank the strange milk. She really wanted the better milk, but she was hungry, sometimes the strange tasting milk was the only thing she was given._

**-x-x-x-**

"That was poisoned," Kyuubi said after Ino got out of the memory. "I had to not only neutralize the poison, but heal the ravages of hunger. A normal child would have been long dead. He was not even given enough food for a normal child. Daemon vessels need more food than normal humans, but ..."

**-x-x-x-**

_Ino flashed through many memories where she did not have enough food._

**-x-x-x-**

"And food was not the only thing Naruto lacked ..." Kyuubi said.

**-x-x-x-**

_More memories came. _

_She got thrown out of the orphanage, but old man Hokage gave her a small apartment and a monthly allowance. Unfortunately, most shopkeepers wouldn't even allow her to enter their stores. _

**-x-x-x-**

"Some of them enjoyed selling Naruto bad or rotten food, faulty equipment," growled Kyuubi. "On top of that, they charged him with premium prices."

"No," Ino shook her head. "They can't be all like that. I remember going to some of those stores ... they were so nice with me, but ..."

Kyuubi nodded grudgingly. "Not all villagers were like this. The truth is that Naruto was ... mostly protected from direct violence by the Hokage. He wanted Naruto to have a normal life. Unfortunately, others had different plans. Children were told to stay away from Naruto.

**-x-x-x-**

_She wanted to play with other children, but they never wanted to play with her. Some of the children enjoyed bulling her and the only thing adults ever did, was to tell them to stay away from her._

**-x-x-x-**

Ino got out of the memories and thought back on something that happened years before. Some boys made fun of Sakura's forehead and Naruto cheered her up. When Naruto and Sakura parted ways, they looked like they would be good friends. But the next time she saw them, Sakura was very cool towards the boy. Ino thought at that time that they got into a fight. When she asked her parents about it, they told her to stay away from Naruto.

"Yes," Kyuubi said, following Ino's thoughts. "That hurt Naruto a lot. He thought he made a friend ..."

**-x-x-x-**

_She blinked away tears when Sakura told her they could not be friends. _

**-x-x-x-**

"Why?" mumbled Ino. "That's not fair."

Kyuubi shook her head. "I can't really blame the villagers too much for this particular thing. After all, they could not truly know if Naruto was dangerous or not. As long as they had even a suspicion, they were entitled to tell their children to not interact with Naruto. A shinobi is dangerous and a child shinobi even more so. A child with a daemon imprisoned could be deadly. Besides this, Naruto is not liked by the village. They would not want that dislike to splash on their children if they associated with the village pariah. Their first priority is their children, not Naruto. In their eyes, Naruto is just a stranger for them and they have no duty towards him."

Ino nodded and Kyuubi continued. "Most adults simply ignored him, pretending he didn't exist and only a minority actually tried to harm him. From those who tried to truly harm him, (one way or another), they are split in three categories."

**-x-x-x-**

_Ino saw cold stare after cold stare, sneers and disgust. She was thrown out of stores, yelled, ignored and punished by his teachers, given medical help grudgingly or sometimes outright ignored by the healers._

**-x-x-x-**

Kyuubi stopped the flood of memories. "First, there are those who stay within or stretch the boundaries of the laws. Here, we have the shopkeepers who refuse to sell things to him or sell him low quality goods at high prices. Then, there are the healers who gave him medical help only grudgingly or not at all. Then we have the Academy teachers who did their best to sabotage Naruto's education. Even those who care nothing, (good or ill) for Naruto have trouble with him. After all, he is my prison and they can not forget that. Even if they know (intellectually) that Naruto is not the Kyuubi, they can never get over the fact that behind those pretty eyes, the one who almost flatten their home is shackled."

**-x-x-x-**

_Ino found herself kicked by drunks in a dark alley._

_She ducked a punch from an enraged store owner._

**-x-x-x-**

"Then," the Kyuubi continued, "there are the villagers that lose their tempers or get drunk and step over the line. Usually, things don't go too far and shinobi or ANBU come to save him. As Naruto grew up, he learned to avoid these painful meetings."

Kyuubi fell silent for a moment before continuing. "And then, there are the professional and amateur assassination attempts and those who employ them."

**-x-x-x-**

_Ino shivered in shock through the four professional assassination attempts, from her last one, to her first one, before she was kicked out of the orphanage. _

**-x-x-x-**

"The first two times," the daemon said, "Naruto didn't even realize someone tried to kill him and he quickly forgot about them. After all, they didn't even leave a scar and they healed overnight. There might have been more attempts on his life, but if there were, the Hokage took care of them."

Kyuubi shook her head at the stunned girl. "Why so shocked? After all, this is a shinobi village. It is their job to kill. Anyone can hire someone to kill anyone as long as the pay is good. Some don't even need to pay. Some are clan leaders or are part of the village council who have Jounin at their beck and call."

"No," Ino protested, "the Hokage ..."

"Can do only so much," Kyuubi interrupted. "Yes, he is the leader of the village. Theoretically, he is the absolute ruler of the village. But you can't be so naïve to think that anything he wants will happen. Look at Naruto. The Third made a law not only to protect Naruto, but also to allow him to have a happy childhood. Did that happen?"

"No," Ino whispered.

"That is because in Konoha, the Hokage needs the support of the shinobi and civilian population for the village to run smoothly. In other villages, the Kage could have enforced his edicts better, since there; the Kage is truly the absolute leader of the village. But even there, he would have had to not step too much on his subordinates toes. After all, there are many small ways in which they can make his life harder. This happened in Konoha: the third gave a law, and the villagers chose to respect the letter of the law, but not the spirit."

"Most of the villagers however," Kyuubi continued, "simply don't care about Naruto. They are cooler towards him because of me or because others hate him and they don't want to be known as demon lovers and have that hate spread on them. There are only a few people who showed any amount of care towards Naruto. That's me, Hinata and Anko."

Ino blinked as a multitude of memories replayed in her mind.

"Then there's the Hokage, a ramen stand owner and his daughter."

By this time, Ino was looking confused. "I have to leave..."

"Two more things before you leave, Yamanaka Ino. Remember that you are not allowed to tell about me to those who do not know it, not even to Sasuke Uchiha. It is a S-class secret. Also an advice: you saw Naruto's mind, perhaps you should see the Uchiha's memories as well. You should see the mind of the one you think you love. Good bye, Ino."

**-x-x-x-**

Kyuubi grinned after Ino disappeared. She was just as surprised as Naruto by the attack and she failed to properly defend Naruto's mind. By the time she realized what was happening, the mind walker had already viewed too much of Naruto's memories. Since she doubted Naruto would be pleased if she killed the mind walker, Kyuubi was quite upset. Fortunately, she realized that while the mind walker found some information she'd rather not be known, it was nothing that would endanger Naruto too much. The only potential problem was her intimate relation with Naruto and Hinata. Still, while it might put Hinata in a uncomfortable position, it was nothing that would endanger them. Even more fortunate was the identity of the mind walker; it was Yamanaka Ino.

The problem with entering another's mind is that the mind walker's mind must be stronger and better trained than the mind of their victims (or patients). There is a reason for that: when a mind walker enters a mind, he doesn't view memories like a movie. He lives them - senses and emotions; everything. If the mind walker's mind is not strong enough, he risks immersing too much in the memories, sympathizing too much with the mind he walks in. One could become so entrenched in them that he would acquire things from the mind they are probing.

If unprepared and untrained, one might even become a serial murderer who enjoys slicing people to pieces. Or they could become in love with the love interest of the ones they are probing.

Those who are experienced enough can realize when a mind is too strong for them and retreat before their personality is changed too much. They can also shield themselves to a certain extent, based on their skill and the skill of the one they are probing.

But Ino Yamanaka was not experienced enough to realize that Kyuubi laid a trap for her when she continued to show her memories of Naruto. Besides those, using the connection Ino established, she enforced and pushed Naruto's feelings deep into Ino's mind. Unfortunately, such an occurrence might be the first and last one. It was unlikely that another untrained mind walker would wonder into Naruto's mind.

Kyuubi grinned to herself. "Soon, you will be ours, little mind walker."

**-x-x-x-**

With that, Ino entered back into her own body which was collapsed behind a tree. Naruto stood up, and with a quick glance towards her, he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

**-x-x-x-**

"Hinata," Hiashi stated when Hinata entered the main family dojo.

Hinata walked next to her sister, Hanabi. "Father," she replied in a quiet, soft voice, but without any hint of nervousness.

The Hyuuga clan head was surprised by the change his older daughter went through. Only two months earlier, Hinata would have stammered and looked down in a similar situation. Hinata was always a quiet, shy girl, just like her mother. His older daughter suffered even more than him from her death. He knew that she needed something to replace the emotional support her mother offered, but he couldn't be that. He was the clan head first and foremost. If the girl couldn't get over her weakness on her own, then she wasn't fit to replace him as the next clan head. It was better to test her now, while she was still young and her mistakes would harm only her, than to let her assume his duties and fail the clan.

Before she begun training with the Jinchuuriki child, she barely kept pace with Hanabi in their spars. Even if Hinata was four years older, she usually lost their fights. It was not that she was so much weaker than her younger sister. He was the Hyuuga head and his eyes could see that the girl did not lack the capacity to fight, but the will. She was simply unwilling to harm others, especially her younger sister. She was too much like her mother.

But after she begun to train with Uzumaki Naruto, she changed. Instead of stammering, she talked in a quiet, soft, but at the same time, firm voice. While before she kept her head bowed, with her eyes to the ground and her shoulders hunched, she now held her back and head straight. It still wasn't the Hyuuga noble posture, but it was far better than the submissive posture she used to have. But the greatest change was her behavior. Hiashi remembered the almost pathetic desire to please him, her inability to cause bodily or mental harm and her low self-esteem. Now, that desire to please him was inexistent; he could read little from her expression; she was almost apathetic and uncaring in his presence or the presence of the clan. Only when she left for the Academy or someone was talking about Naruto could he see the happiness hidden beneath her placid exterior.

Hiashi gave the signal for his daughters to begin and they exploded in motion, gentle fist strikes thrown and parried.

Hiashi noted absentmindedly that Hinata had improved again. Thanks to her better form and her willingness to actually cause a little harm to her opponent, she was clearly winning. The man noticed that while Hinata was willing to harm Hanabi, she still preferred to minimize the damage and the pain. Instead of taking advantage of one of Hanabi's openings and striking a disabling and painful hit to her torso, Hinata hit the shoulder instead, disabling her right hand. Moments later, Hanabi, with only one of her arms able to protect her, was defeated and Hiashi called the end of the match.

After Hiashi dismissed Hanabi, he looked at the winner of the match. "I am pleased with your progress, Hinata."

"Thank you, father," Hinata replied simply.

Hiashi felt a little sad that his once shy, smiling girl was not smiling at the complement. But for the good of the clan, he thought, it is better for Hinata to master her emotions. Had she not, the risk of her getting herself killed, or worse harming the Clan through her actions or inactions would have been too great.

"I understand you incapacitated the last Uchiha three days ago."

"Yes father, he attacked Naruto-kun without provocation."

Hiashi wondered about the Jinchuuriki. He had not seen the boy in the last four months and was slightly curious of his change. The talk was that "the moron" was gone. He apparently got rid of his horrible, orange clothes and stopped his pranks and goofing around. From what he understood, he now wore black clothes similar to the ones ANBU have and a white blank mask.

He did not know what prompted the change, but whatever it was, he was sure it might not be so good for the village or the boy. Hiashi prided himself on his level head, so he doubted the boy was the Kyuubi like many believed. From the way the boy used to constantly declare he would become the Hokage he was certain the boy had no nefarious plans for Konoha. His eyes told him that much. But that was in the past, with a simple-minded boy who had a desperate craving for the recognition of the villagers. Hiashi doubted the boy would ever fulfill his dream, especially now. While a grinning blond idiot, who continued to try to please the villagers and gain their love and respect endlessly, might have a good chance to ultimately change their hearts, or at least the hearts of the younger generation, this new Naruto was another matter altogether. From what little he knew, this new Naruto was almost antisocial with most people, though quite polite. He stopped trying to impress the people around him and judging from his Academy performances, he appeared to not only be capable of taking care of himself, but willing as well.

The man knew that Naruto had a hard life and he never tried to retaliate at the village for his treatment, but if the boy was now unwilling to accept such treatment, it could lead to problems.

For a moment, he thought about ordering Hinata to stop her interactions with the boy, but quickly discarded the idea. Hinata continued to improve and that meant the clan would be stronger for it. Also the boy was a Jinchuuriki. He could prove a powerful tool for the Hyuuga. It was best to wait and think carefully before making any decision. Until then, he would allow Hinata to train with the boy.

**-x-x-x-**

**Author's Notes**: About the difference from canon ... as time passes, it will deviate more and more. The main one is that Naruto has an impact on certain characters and events. My Naruto is different, thinks differently (canon Naruto was a ... moron with glimpses of genius; my Naruto, while he may not be a genius, he has a decent mind and he has the ability to quickly learn things that don't use too much chakra) and behaves and does things differently.

Akatsuki will still be bad guys.

Haku won't die. Zabuza ... you'll see.

Naruto will meet other Jinchuuriki, but that's still some time away.

_Thank you for reading and reviewing._

_**Please review. Any input would be appreciated.**_

Published: April 24, 2009.

-voider-

**-x-x-x-**


	8. Chapter 8 The other mind

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 8.**

**The other mind.**

**-x-x-x-**

After his meeting with Ino, Naruto appeared to his home in a swirl of leaves and took a seat under a tree. "Kyuubi?" he asked.

Kyuubi popped into existence, sat down next to him and leaned her head on Naruto's shoulder. "Yes? What is it?"

"About Ino ..." he begun.

"Oh. I'm sorry. She took me by surprise when most of my attention was elsewhere."

Naruto shook his head. "I know; it's fine, but I wasn't thinking about that. I wondered why you showed her so much."

"She is infatuated with the Uchiha boy," Kyuubi answered. "Had I released her with only the few glimpses she saw, it would have been more than likely that she would tell him, (or someone else,) of what she saw."

Naruto frowned at the answer. "I don't understand, what keeps her from doing the same thing now?"

"It is because of what I showed her. She saw, sensed and felt all those memories. She now knows and feels what you went through your life to some extent. Your feelings for Hinata, for me, were felt by her. To some minor extent, a part of your affection, feelings, emotions were transmitted to her."

"You mean Ino ... loves you and Hinata?" Naruto gasped.

"I would not go that far," Kyuubi said, a little pleased, "but in a way, yes, you could put it that way."

"You mean," Naruto's voice trembled, "you brainwashed her?"

"In a way, it could be considered that ..."

"Kyuubi, I told you I don't want to harm the villagers."

"I didn't hurt her, Naruto," Kyuubi sighed. "And you didn't let me finish."

"Sorry," Naruto said chastised.

"What I was going to say was is that it was brainwashing in a small, minor way only. For example, you do not like the Hyuuga because of the way they are behaving towards Hinata. Did Hinata brainwash you?"

"Of course not."

"But she told you things, the same way I showed Ino things. The only difference is that the exchange of data between us and Ino was ... deeper. If instead of telling us of her home life, Hinata showed us her memories, would it be brainwashing? For true brainwashing to occur, the mind, personality, must be, more or less, destroyed."

"Oh."

"Ino will be friendlier with you," Kyuubi said.

"You sound pleased," Naruto said suspiciously.

"Of course," Kyuubi replied.

"Why? You don't like the village or the villagers."

"I like Hinata, Anko, and you," Kyuubi pointed out.

Naruto nodded. "But you don't like the rest, you tolerate them."

"Indeed."

"So, why do you want to be friends with her?"

"Well, she's really hot," Kyuubi purred. "Just imagine her naked." The daemon began sending Naruto perverted images.

"Not now, Kyuubi," Naruto groaned. "Anko will be here soon and she'll hurt me if I'm distracted."

"You're right," she sighed. "Go and train. Anko is going to punish you again if you slack off."

Naruto rose to his feat. "That was your fault," Naruto grumbled. "You kept me awake all night."

"Oh? I didn't hear you complain."

Naruto walked away, muttering about "perverted Kitsune" and Kyuubi sighed in relief.

She had promised Naruto to never lie to him and she always kept her word. Fortunately, Naruto was foiled from continuing with his questions. She did not think Naruto was ready for the full truth.

As a daemon lord, she possessed a massive intellect. It was a trait common to her kind. The irony was that the humans believed the opposite. They thought daemons were some kind of animal, only somewhat smarter. They thought her kind was aggressive, evil, insane and stupid. They thought daemons were bloodthirsty monsters that had no better things to do than slaughter humans and destroy their civilizations.

It was of course a somewhat narrow view, born of their ignorance.

It was practically impossible for an immortal being like her to live for eons without accumulating knowledge. It was true that from a human point of view, some of the daemons were so different that they lacked many traits that human gauge intelligence with. But this different, alien intelligence did not make them stupid, only different. Also, some times when human thought they were interacting with a daemon, it was only a small fragment of their mind. Due to their immortality, they sometimes hibernate. Sometimes, daemons shut down most of their mental abilities (due to injuries or other reasons), leaving them with only shells of their true selves.

Of course, some of her kin really were nothing more than stupid animals. Some of them were really as aggressive and insane as the humans thought.

Daemons also have a different ethic system. Many think that humans are inferior to them like humans think animals are. For them, killing a human is the same as a human stepping on an ant.

Had she not interacted with Naruto, his life would have been much different. Usually, when a daemon was sealed into a Jinchuuriki, they liked to amuse themselves by giving them a hard time. The one-tail likes to drive his hosts insane while others, like the two-tails, have more of a symbiotic relation with their hosts. Most were in-between, depending on the daemon, host and the reason they were sealed.

Had she not interacted with Naruto, (as she initially planned), the difference would have been great. Based on Naruto's prior personality, it would not have been pleasant, (from her point of view, at least). The boy's former destiny made her feel slightly disgusted.

She suspected that some of Naruto's traits were subtly influenced by the Hokage. The boy's dream was to become the Hokage, gain the acknowledgement of the villagers and protect them with his life. That last part really disturbed her; she would never risk herself for some unknown people. Unlike her, the old man had encouraged these desires. In truth, she could not blame the man. In his own way, he wanted to protect Naruto. As long as he was loyal to the village and strived to prove himself to them, he would be relatively safe from the village. If Naruto were to become less than loyal to Konoha and step over the line, betraying Konoha or becoming a missing-nin, the Hokage would have no choice but to order Naruto's death.

Had she not interfered, Naruto would have continued in his blissful ignorance. Lacking proper training and sufficient maturity, he would have blindly jumped into fights until one of them cost him his life. His personality was such that in time he might have become accepted by the village and even became Hokage. The chance was small, but it was still there. The old Naruto was like a puppy; a small pitiful animal, craving love and acceptance; a dog that would return no matter how many times you kick him. In time, even the most hardened people would take pity on such a "dog". (Of course, there were some that would joyfully rip the dog to pieces.)

Such a Naruto would have gained a certain measure of acceptance. The present Naruto or the future Naruto she was molding would have a much harder chance of getting accepted. This new Naruto was like a huge, ferocious dog. Huge, ferocious dogs aren't kicked; they are too dangerous. You can't kick them like the puppy. You stay away from them, fearing their bite or you kill them.

Kyuubi would not have set Naruto on this new path. However, that changed when she begun to understand the Yondaime's seal. Normally, the seals placed on a Jinchuuriki were different. They only imprisoned. Unfortunately, the Yondaime, idiot savant that he was, managed to do something different. Instead of making Naruto a prison for her, he managed to tie them together. This means that if Naruto dies, she too dies. Fortunately for her, there is no way to permanently kill her. It would be ... unpleasant, to say the least, but in the end, she would "return"... eventually.

The problem was that Naruto would return with her. He would not have such a huge influence on her power as he now had, but it would still be there.

At first, when she made contact with Naruto, it was only out of self interest. She thought it prudent to have some sort of mutual understanding with her jailer. But then, she realized that this curse might turn into a blessing. She found that the boy was a good companion, (if she ignored his more annoying habits). She educated the boy, stamped out the annoying habits, and found herself beginning to like him.

She was now quite happy with her new situation. It certainly was more enjoyable than sleeping.

Kyuubi had plans for the future; plans that the present Naruto would not really want. And these plans did not include Naruto becoming Hokage. She saw no reason for Naruto to protect Konoha. After all, the vast majority of Konoha citizens were strangers that never helped and were usually hostile to Naruto. There was no reason for Naruto to protect them.

If he continued to desire to become the Hokage, she would of course, support him. But in the meantime, she would plan for other options; options that included giving Naruto something else than Konoha to love; something like girls.

In truth, when Kyuubi told Hinata that Naruto would need other mates, it was a slight exaggeration. The main reason she said that was for Naruto to gain other people - ones that would be loyal, to love. Since there is no greater bond than the love between mates, Kyuubi decided on building a harem for Naruto. The fun she would have with them was a bonus, but the main reason was more pragmatic.

Even before Kyuubi made contact with Naruto, she knew most of what he knew. After that, Kyuubi gained even more access to Naruto's senses; senses that were significantly boosted by their contract. She had always known that the young Hyuuga was in love (or infatuated) with Naruto. Only an oblivious idiot like the old Naruto could have missed the signs.

Even before Hinata spied on Naruto's training, she had decided that the girl would be good for Naruto. The girl had a confidence problem and she appeared to be disliked by her clan. It was exactly what she needed. Someone who, after being shown affection, would be far more loyal to the object of her affection than to her village or clan. In a way, Hinata was similar to Naruto - injured soul, looking for someone to belong to. She decided she, along with Naruto would be that someone.

She had also set her sights on another - Anko. She too was an injured soul. While Kyuubi approached Anko to train Naruto, it was not the only reason. She could have found another sensei. She was certain she could have guilted the Hokage into providing a sensei for them if she chewed him out for Naruto's total lack of education. After all, the old Naruto was not even able to read at the level of a first year Academy student. Since his old academy instructors went out of their way to ignore Naruto, he had almost no ninja skills. And since he was Konoha's pariah, he also lacked any social skills. Kyuubi was certain she could have made the old man guilty enough to help her with Naruto's training.

However, she preferred her present situation. Anko was far better than anything she could have hoped to get from the Hokage. Anko was Kyuubi's second target. The Special Jounin was not only skilled and experienced, but she was like Naruto and Hinata, hungry for somewhere and someone to belong.

Kyuubi was certain that the present Hinata would choose Naruto over her clan and village. She was not certain about Anko, but she was confident that in time, after the kunoichi's relation with Naruto evolved (or even before that), she too would choose Naruto over Konoha. And Naruto would choose the girls over the village.

Kyuubi had no intention of allowing Naruto sacrifice himself for a village that despised him. Even if the village loved him as the Yondaime reborn, she would still feel the same. Konoha was a ninja village. As long as Naruto remained loyal, he would have to fight for it. In the end, he would eventually die in one of their many wars. Kyuubi had no intention of allowing this.

The old Naruto would have gladly sacrificed himself for Konoha, hoping to purchase a small measure of respect with his life. She obviously abhorred this idea, so she decided to search for a reason to live. He would live because if he died, Kyuubi also died. (She would get over it, but that didn't mean she wouldn't do almost anything to avoid or delay it.) He would live for Hinata, because the girl would probably kill herself if he died. (She would probably kamikaze herself.) He would live for his future mates. They would live for each other. The best way to stay alive is to have a reason for it.

She had chosen in Hinata and Anko two skilled, but lonely kunoichi. Their past sorrow was the link that brought them together. People like them would persevere. They would protect and stay loyal to each other. One day, they would have to choose between themselves and Konoha. Kyuubi promised to herself that they would choose her new family. After all, it was the best fun she had in ages.

Ino was both a blessing and a complication for her plans. On the one hand, Ino, unlike Hinata and Anko had a relatively happy life and had no reason to dislike Konoha. If she became a part of their group, the blond Yamanaka would find it harder to choose Naruto over Konoha, which would, in turn make it harder for the others. On the other hand Ino was a mind walker. Having such a useful skill in their group would prove useful. Besides, Ino was really hot.

If Naruto learned of her thoughts, he would be displeased. After all she promised to help him no matter what and Naruto still wanted to become the Hokage, though not with as much fervor as before. His newfound mental maturity along with Kyuubi and Hinata's affection shattered many of the reason he had for becoming Hokage. After all, when he first decided to become the Hokage, it was only so he would be accepted and gain the respect of the villagers.

In his naïve, child mind, he saw that the old man was respected and loved, so Naruto thought that if he took the old man's place, he would be respected and loved like the village leader. Fortunately, Naruto was now aware that even if he became the Hokage, that would not mean he would be respected. Even more fortunate was that Naruto now had true love and affection. The respect of the Hokage paled in comparison to the love he received from Hinata and Kyuubi and Anko's friendship.

Even so, Naruto still dreamed of becoming the Hokage and Kyuubi's plans might unsettle him. He might even see it as a betrayal. Kyuubi saw it differently. If Naruto wanted to remain in a village that cared nothing for him, she would support him. In the meantime, she would prepare for the eventual time when Naruto would have to make the hard choice. Kyuubi had no compulsion on manipulating some things that would make Naruto choose the better option.

**-x-x-x-**

A troubled Ino walked towards the Academy. It was a week after she entered Naruto's mind and she was still confused. Until then, she only loved Sasuke, but as she walked to her home, she could only think about Hinata, Kyuubi and Naruto. She had never cared too much about them one way or another, (even Kyuubi was more of a myth than anything else) and the sudden, new feelings confused her. And now, she somehow cared more for Hinata than Sasuke.

She began to wonder if something happened during her mind technique, so she read more about the technique. She discovered the problem. It was a technique taught only to Jounin whose minds was strong enough. It was because she did not have the mental strength and experience that some of Naruto's memories and emotions were transferred to her.

The blonde shuddered at what could have happened. When she learned about the technique, she had ignored the warnings. She now understood what could have happened. Ino considered herself fortunate that as tragic as Naruto's life was, Naruto himself was not a bad guy. He was actually kind of nice. Ino considered herself lucky that the only things she got from the blond boy was some unpleasant memories and the love he had for Hinata and Kyuubi. It could have turned out much worse.

There was a reason the technique was only taught only to Jounin. While mind walking in a relatively sane mind is not too dangerous, performing the technique on a less than sane mind was not wise. It was because of the risk of such a mind. You could find yourself in the mind of someone insane, who not only enjoyed killing people and lived for it, but even worse things. Once, a Yamanaka was forced to enter such an insane mind over and over again to retrieve information. In time, his mind broke. He was found doing the same things the insane nin did. It was because of this that she should have been more careful. She was not fully trained and she spent far too much time in Naruto's mind. Had she ended her technique instead of allowing Kyuubi to show her so many memories, it wouldn't have been a problem. Unfortunately, her curiosity got the best of her.

This was driving her crazy. She barely slept because she missed the comforting arms of Kyuubi. She wanted to speak with someone about it, but who? She did not want to break the Third's law, but even more, she did not want to harm Naruto by speaking of what she found out while talking with Kyuubi.

"Damn," Ino groaned.

After she reached her classroom, she saw that Sakura was sitting next to Sasuke. Usually, they would race for the privilege of sitting next to the dark prince of their dreams, but somehow, in the past week Ino didn't feel like it.

Sakura smirked at Ino, so the blond girl took a seat next to Shikamaru. Ino glanced at her former best friend who was trying to ask Sasuke out for a date. She wished Sakura was still her friend so they could talk, but Sakura had declared herself her rival for Sasuke's affection and broke their friendship. At that time, Ino was hurt by her friend's choice, since she wouldn't have broken her friendship over a boy, even if it was Sasuke.

Sasuke, Ino sighed. He's so cool with his tragic past ... but Naruto too had a tragic past and he was nothing like Sasuke. Sasuke was cold with everyone, Naruto was the same, except he cared for and loved Kyuubi and Hinata.

Ino sighed again. I'm so confused, she thought.

When Naruto and Hinata entered the classroom, Ino quashed the impulse to hug and kiss Hinata. She wanted to go to Naruto and hug him. But she loved Sasuke, didn't she? So she ignored her feelings.

Somehow, her love for her Sasuke was dampened by the feelings she had for Naruto, Kyuubi and Hinata. I wish I didn't use that technique on Naruto. If I didn't, I wouldn't be in this mess. I would only love Sasuke. I'm so confused.

Ino's eyes grew wide as she suddenly remembered Kyuubi's advice: to see what was in Sasuke's mind. She wanted to know how and what Sasuke really was. After mind walking in Naruto's mind, she felt she knew him as well as she knew herself.

**-x-x-x-**

Naruto glanced at Ino who was staring at Sasuke. I guess Ino is still the same, he thought. She's still obsessed with the Uchiha.

Kyuubi watched from inside Naruto, using his senses. Her tails swished in anticipation and she chuckled. Yes girl, she thought. Look in the Uchiha's mind. See how the one you are infatuated with, is really like.

**-x-x-x-**

Ino concealed herself in Sasuke's training ground, behind some bushes.

Should I really do this? Ino asked herself. One corner of her mind knew it was not wise to use the technique again.

Another corner told her to do it. It wasn't like Sasuke would influence her in any way she didn't want. She now knew to not stay inside a mind for too long, especially if she felt too much emotion. And it was Sasuke. She really wanted to know what he felt.

An exhausted Sasuke was hitting a training log. With some luck, he'll think he collapsed from exhaustion.

With a hand sign, Ino's mind entered the Uchiha boy's mind.

Both of them collapsed to the ground.

**-x-x-x-**

_Ino walked toward the Uchiha district. She saw dead bodies._

Ino learned some tricks after she used the technique on Naruto. The mind walker concentrated and the memory faded away. While she was curious to see what happened, she was not foolish enough to "relive" the massacre.

**-x-x-x-**

Ino let go and slipped in another memory.

_Itachi was about to kill her mother..._

Again, Ino dispelled the memory.

**-x-x-x-**

_Ino was suspended on a cross. Itachi had a sword in his hand..._

**-x-x-x-**

_Itachi was about to..._

**-x-x-x-**

"_If you want to kill me, despise me, hate me, and live in an unsightly way... Run, and cling to life, and then some day, when you have the same eyes as I do, come before me."_

**-x-x-x-**

Ino grew frustrated after each try. Every time, she saw something from the Uchiha massacre. It was as if this was the only thing Sasuke was thinking about.

She decided to try another thing. She concentrated on the academy, her class and classmates.

**-x-x-x-**

_She entered the class. _

_Weaklings all of them._

"_Sasuke-kun!" Two of his fangirls shouted. It was Ino and Sakura. _

_Useless, both of them and all girls in her class; not fit to bear Uchiha children. Annoying. She ignores them._

_Her eyes fall on Naruto. Next time I will defeat you... _

_Itachi... I will kill you..._

**-x-x-x-**

Ino's body opened her eyes. She immediately fled.

She didn't stop running until she got home, where she locked herself in her room.

"That can't be," she mumbled.

Was that the boy she loved? Was that her Sasuke-kun? Someone obsessed with the death of his clan and killing Itachi?

Every time she viewed a random memory, it had something to do with Itachi. Everything paled to his hate, rage, loathing...

He cared nothing for anyone.

She was nothing.

His mind was so dark.

Even Kyuubi felt somewhat comforting...

She was useless...

Naruto's mind was nicer.

Weakling...

She wanted a hug.

Hinata...

Kyuubi...

Naruto... he cared. He loved them. He was nice, warm.

Ino shivered. Sasuke was ... cold and clammy.

Naruto would do anything for Hinata.

Sasuke ... cared only for power.

She never wanted to feel that. Empty. Cold. Hate. Rage. What would have happened if she stayed in Sasuke's mind for too long? Would she have turned into that?

To hate someone like that.

Ino crawled into her bed.

She hugged herself and fell asleep shivering.

Her body relaxed. She smiled. "Kyuubi ..." Ino sighed.

**-x-x-x-**

**Author's Notes**: We saw more of Kyuubi. Enjoyed it? What about what Ino saw and how she reacted?

About how fast Ino learned the technique. While is it an A-rank technique, it is similar to the Mind Body Change technique. Learning the basics is easy. Mastering it is hard.

About Kyuubi giving Naruto bloodlines... There won't be any Kyuubi gives Naruto some awesome bloodlines or anything like that. What Kyuubi gave Naruto was something she already had - enhanced senses, physical and some mental abilities, more chakra - all of these are things canon Naruto had to a smaller degree. Since my Kyuubi is somewhat nicer, she gave him more.

My Naruto won't need a bloodline to be strong. I will not take the "charge with raw power" approach canon takes.

His ability to use clones for training is enough to propel him (eventually) to S-rank skills without using Kyuubi's chakra.

Note that this will not help him master an S-rank technique faster. It would barely work on A-rank techniques and only if using few clones with LOTS of chakra. What clone training helps, is in chakra and elemental control, gaining (book or other) knowledge, learning taijutsu and mastering low and mid level ninjutsu.

A consequence of this is that while canon Naruto is often underestimated due to his poor overall skills, my Naruto will be a pro and he'll be treated as one.

An enemy Jounin may play around with inexperienced genin, but when they come face to face with a genin that fights like a Jounin, he'll fight seriously.

Well... hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Thank you for reading and reviewing.

**Please review. Input is appreciated.**

Published: June 8, 2009.

-voider-

**-x-x-x-**


	9. Chapter 9 One more friend

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 9.**

**One more friend.**

**-x-x-x-**

"Class dismissed," Iruka said.

Ino waited for Sasuke to leave the classroom before standing up. Every time she looked at the last Uchiha, she felt a cold shiver run down her spine. Now that she knew how the boy was on the inside, she could only shake her head in disgust as fangirls tried to ask Sasuke for a date.

Still, I was like them, the blond girl told herself. Who am I to judge?

As Ino exited the academy, she was ambushed by Sakura. "Ino-pig!"

Ino sighed. "What do you want, forehead?"

"What's up with you? You've been acting strange lately."

"I'm fine, Sakura."

"No you're not," Sakura shot back. "You haven't asked Sasuke out on a date in two weeks."

Ino shrugged and tried to move past the pink haired girl.

"Why? Are you playing hard to get? Or are you..."

"No Sakura," Ino interrupted. "I am no longer interested in Sasuke. You can have him, if you want!"

Sakura gaped at the blond girl. "What do you mean you are no longer interested?"

"It means what I said."

"But... but... he's Sasuke! How can you not be interested? You can't be serious!" Sakura's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You're lying. I just know it. You're planning something!"

"No, I'm not Sakura."

"Then..."

"Sakura! I am serious. I am no longer interested in him."

"Why not?"

Ino shook her head. "The question is why should I be? I admit he is handsome, smart and skilled, but for a long time, I ignored his many faults and flaws."

Sakura gaped at the blond girl. "Sasuke has flaws?"

"Yeah forehead. You didn't think he's perfect, did you?"

"Of course he's perfect. He's Sasuke!"

Ino snorted. "No, he's not. First, he's completely antisocial and he doesn't want to change that. I don't think he's capable of love or even friendship. I don't know if he'll ever be."

"You're really serious!" Sakura said.

"Yes Sakura. You should forget about him. He will never return your feelings."

"That's not true!" Sakura snarled, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. "Ah... I see."

"See what?"

"You confessed to Sasuke and he rejected you. It isn't that you're no longer interested in him, but that he's not interested in you."

"Sakura, he isn't interested in anyone. You know what? I don't care! Do whatever you like! I was just trying to help you."

Ino left her confused former friend behind her and headed towards the center of the village.

The girl kept walking before she found herself before a ramen stand. "Ichiraku," she murmured. His favorite place to eat, she thought.

For a strange reason, she decided to enter the ramen bar. Two of the chairs were already occupied. Naruto was sitting on his favorite spot and Hinata was next to him. Ino froze in indecision, wondering what to do.

"Ino-san?"

Ino blinked. "Hello Hinata-chan, Naruto..."

Hinata made a wave at the empty chair next to her. "Please sit,"

Ino nodded and sat on the indicated place.

A black haired girl, older than Ino by a few years came from the back of the bar. "Naruto-kun, is this a friend of yours?" she asked.

"She's my classmate, Yamanaka Ino," Naruto answered. "Ino-san, this is Ayame."

Ino remembered the girl from Naruto's memories. "Hello, Ayame-san."

The older girl smiled at the blond girl. "Nice to meet you, Ino-chan. What would you like to have?"

"Um..."

"She'll have a beef ramen on us," Naruto said.

Ayame smiled and headed in the back of the bar.

"You like beef ramen, don't you?" Hinata asked.

Ino sighed and looked down. "It's my favorite, but I'm on a diet."

"Why?" Hinata asked.

"Because," Ino paused to search for an answer. "You know? I have no idea."

"We are kunoichi," Hinata said. "We are not supposed to go on diets. That's only for civilians. Since we are kunoichi, we train regularly. Therefore, diets are actually unhealthy for us. Yes, there is a limit to how much we can eat, but as active growing kunoichi, we need a lot of food."

"Going on a diet or eating unhealthy can stunt your growth," Naruto said. "Eating plenty of healthy food is necessary for our bodies to develop properly. As evidence we can take Hinata here," he said grinning.

Ino frowned and looked past Hinata, at Naruto, who had his mask on the table. "I don't understand."

Naruto glanced for a moment towards Hinata's breasts and Ino understood. She remembered from Naruto's memories how developed Hinata was. "Oh," Ino blushed and her hand twitched slightly as she dived into memories that were not her own.

**-x-x-x-**

Next school day, Ino walked outside with her bento box. In the past, she would have tried to find Sasuke to have lunch with him. Sometimes, she managed to corner the boy only to be ignored. Usually, she would have failed in her search. When that happened, she usually got together with the other members of the Uchiha fan club. Sometimes she found her childhood friends Shikamaru and Chouji. Looking around for the two boys, she saw Naruto and Hinata under a tree.

She walked towards them. For a moment, as she stood before them, the girl thought about ignoring them, but then, she remembered the day before. Ino had ended spending over an hour talking with Hinata and Naruto. They never talked about Sasuke or the Kyuubi, only about food, training, being a ninja and related things. Now...

Naruto and Hinata watched her approaching them. "Hello, Ino-san," Naruto said. "Would you like to sit with us?"

Ino smiled and nodded. "I'd like that."

Naruto moved to one side, making room for the newcomer. Ino hesitated for a moment, but then she sat between him and Hinata.

All three Academy students looked into the distance, where members of the Uchiha fan club were searching for Sasuke.

"You no longer seem interested in Sasuke," Naruto said.

Ino flinched at the boy's words as if he struck her. "Yes."

"So, did you take her advice and visited his mind?"

Ino suppressed a shiver of revulsion and remained silent for a long time. "Yes," she finally said. "It was ... not pleasant. His mind is ... cold. His mind is filled by thoughts of vengeance. There was so much rage and hate. So much that it drowns the voice of the child he once was. Deep inside him there is a shattered fragment that still loves his brother. He feels so betrayed. It's probably what makes him hate Itachi - his idol so much, that he would do anything for revenge."

"You know," Hinata said, "If you told this to his fangirls, it would only make them fight even more for him."

"I know," Ino sighed. "Yesterday I had a talk with Sakura. For a moment I thought about telling her about the things I saw in his mind, but I realized it would do more harm than good. She would only think about how tragic it was for him. She would only delude herself about being the one to heal him." Ino once again fell silent. "She couldn't understand what his mind is truly like. I don't think he can be healed. I don't think he would want to. He makes my skin crawl."

Hinata moved closer to Ino and put an arm around her. "It's okay," Hinata whispered into the blond girl's ear.

Ino leaned in the Hinata's side, relaxing in the familiar presence. On her other side, she felt Naruto shift closer to her, offering his silent support.

The three Academy students stayed in silence until they had to return to class. Ino roused from a half asleep state and gave Hinata a peck on her cheek. "Thank you," she said before running to class.

**-x-x-x-**

"Eight Divination Signs: Sixty-Four Palms of the Hand!" Hinata said.

Naruto cringed.

"Two palms..."

Naruto reeled back from the girl's opening strikes.

"Four palms..."

Anko munched on a dango stick.

"Eight palms..."

Anko threw the stick at Hinata, who moved her head from the path of the small projectile.

"Sixteen palms..."

Naruto stifled a squeak as a dango stick struck his mask.

"Thirty-two palms..."

A Naruto clone gave Anko more dango.

"Sixty-four palms!"

Naruto fell down and Kyuubi begun to heal his wounds and reopen his tenketsu. The boy groaned and climbed to his feet.

Three more dango sticks struck his chest. Naruto only grunted, took them out and threw them at Anko. "Dango Stick Shadow Clone Technique," Naruto snarled without making any hand signs. Three dango sticks became hundreds as they left Naruto's hand.

Anko chuckled and slammed her hand into the ground. "Earth Release: Mud Overturn." A wall of earth rose in front of the Special Jounin in time to stop the projectiles. "You're still a couple years too early to defeat me," the woman said as she approached her students. "Congratulations Hinata. I'm very proud of you; both of you. As a reward, I am going to teach you a new technique that can complement your gentle fist."

Anko turned around and made a few hand seals. "**Hidden Shadow Snake Hands," she said, then pointed her hands at a Naruto clone that was approaching with more dango. From each of Anko's sleeves, three snakes launched at the clone.**

**The test subject widened his eyes at the approaching danger and threw the tray of food at the incoming snakes. **The snakes swerved out of the way and continued towards their target.

"My dango!" Anko snarled as her favorite food fell to the ground. The snakes from her left sleeves begun to approach their target faster.

The clone leaned back, barely dodging the first three snakes that passed above him and planted his hands into the ground. He then kicked up with his left foot, hitting the fourth snake. The clone tried to bring his foot down to kick the next snake, but unfortunately for Naruto's mental sanity, the snake dodged right and opened his jaws.

Even Anko winced as the snake bit down between the clone's legs. The clone opened his mouth to scream in pain. Unfortunately for the clone, it was not a regular clone, but a solid one, making it too resilient to be taken out instantaneously. Also, due to the pain, the clone could not muster the needed concentration to dispel itself. It tried to concentrate, but the sight of the snake between his legs made him lose his concentration yet again. "Fortunately" for him, the final snake opened wide its jaws as it flew towards the clone's head.

The Naruto clone felt fangs penetrating his braincase and then it lost cohesion, poofing out of existence.

A moment later, Naruto shuddered at the new memory.

"Cool, isn't it?" Anko said.

Naruto closed his eyes and breathed deeply. "I think I need a hug."

Kyuubi came behind Naruto. "That was uncalled for, Anko," she said slipping her arms around him.

"Perhaps," Anko shrugged, "but it was important to demonstrate the techniques capabilities. "In my opinion, this is one of the best C-ranked technique. With sufficient experience, you can do all sort of things. Someone who has only learned the basics, could do little more than point and shoot in a straight direction. Someone more experienced in the technique can do a few more things. First thing is that the snakes can dodge and change direction. Second, they can be poisonous. Third, it has a better than decent speed and excellent precision. This technique would serve Hinata quite a bit. Since most Hyuuga concentrate only on their taijutsu and clan techniques, they are very strong at short range, but weak at mid range and long range."

"Um, sensei?" Hinata asked. "Do you really think I'll be able to win mid range battles with this technique?"

Anko shook her head. "No. but it will certainly help you with long and mid range opponents. However, the reason I think this technique is perfect for you is because of your style. You are not a brute force fighter. You are a precision fighter. If you used, say a Grand Fireball on a enemy, he could dodge it fairly easy, but if you use six snakes that can dodge and change direction, you will have a very good chance to herd your opponent into a move that will be beneficial to you. And if he does, your gentle fist will have a much better chance of defeating him."

Hinata nodded. "I understand."

"Naruto," Anko continued, "you'll also learn this technique since it is such an integral part of my fighting style." At the boy's nod, she continued. "I will also give you six more C-ranked techniques. I want you to try and master these seven C-rank techniques by the time you become genin. First one is Earth Release: Mud Overturn. It's the same technique I stopped your dango stick attack. Basically it's a week defensive wall. The second one is Water Release: Bullet. It's a offensive technique that allows you to spit a water bullet. The third is Wind Release: Great Breakthrough. This one is an offensive technique that blows a blast of wind.

Fourth is Lightning Release: Shockwave. This is a defensive-offensive technique by which you emit a small amount of energy from your body, shocking anything that touches you. Fifth is Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique - an offensive technique that launches a fireball. The last technique is Fire Release: Mythical Fire Phoenix Technique, another fire technique. This technique launches several smaller fireballs. All in all, you have seven C-ranked techniques that if mastered, will make your clones far more powerful."

Naruto nodded. "I understand. If I use them together with kunai shadow clone and exploding clones, it will make my clones far more versatile."

"That's right," Anko nodded. "If you manage to master these techniques, your clones will be on par with a chuunin. And if you master them, they will consume vary little chakra."

"Is it truly such a big difference in chakra consumption?" Hinata asked.

"Yes," Anko replied. "Take the Second Hokage as an example. His affinity with water was so great that he didn't need a water source to perform techniques. He was able to use the moisture in the atmosphere. True, to do this you also need more chakra than normal, but since his chakra control and water affinity was so great, he actually needed less chakra to do a technique without having a water source than a Jounin who was on top of a lake."

Anko fell silent and Kyuubi continued. "Naruto, the problem is that you are a Jinchuuriki. Sooner or later, you'll end up fighting some S-rank. I'm afraid that it will happen before you get to that level. If worse comes to worst, you'll be able to use my chakra. Unfortunately this has a few drawbacks. First is that it is easier to suppress a Daemon's power when it is already sealed. This is why I don't want you to rely on my chakra. The second reason is that you can not properly control my power. The chakra of a Biju is extremely potent and extremely hard to control. Even for my kind, it takes a long time before we are able to control our power even slightly. I can not train you in using my power because the villagers might overreact if they feel my chakra. Also, while your body can handle a small amount of my power, using more will severely damage your body. That is why I want you to be able to control your human chakra as much as you can. For now, you are at Chuunin level. Right now, if you go all out, a run of the mill chuunin will stand no chance against you. If you keep training like this, by the time you finish the Academy, you'll probably be at low Jounin rank. If you master a few high level techniques, you'll be at high Jounin level, bordering S-rank. But before you pass that barrier to S-rank, if you meet an experienced S-rank, you will stand no chance against him."

"S-ranks are bad business," Anko interjected. "For the foreseeable future, your only chance of defeating such an opponent would be by using suicide techniques or resorting to using Kyuubi's chakra. And even then, this would only work against the weaker S-ranks."

"That is correct," Kyuubi nodded. You will probably need years of experience before reaching a solid S-rank. Until then, if we meet someone too strong we will have to flee. If that happens, you might be low on chakra. Having the ability to create clones that can use low ranked techniques without wasting chakra will allow you to at least delay our enemies before we escape. If we come face to face with an S-rank, you can create a few dozen clones, and while our enemy is dealing with the clones, we will be able to retreat."

Naruto frowned. "So you want me to run away if the fight gets too tough?"

"Yes," Kyuubi nodded.

"I'm not a coward," Naruto grumbled.

"Naruto," Kyuubi said sharply, "there is a difference between cowardice and common sense. I have lived for eons and in my long life, I had to retreat from battle many times." 'Also,' Kyuubi continued on their mental link, 'the Academy and the stories of the Hokages filled your head with stories of bravery, heroes who fight against insurmountable odds and all that rot. But that is only propaganda. Sometimes, the villages need to send some of their shinobi on suicide missions; sometimes a smaller sacrifice is needed to gain something - from money, information, wealth and reputation, to the village safety or saving more lives than they sacrificed. Never forget that there are many villagers who would not even blink if we were send on a suicide mission, even if it the mission would never provide any advantage to Konoha. There are those who wish to harm us. Until we die, I will always follow you. If you wish to end our life as we know it, it is your choice. If you choose to serve this village that despises you rather than continuing your life along me, our Hinata and our friends, it is your choice. But before you do anything foolish like sacrificing our life for some stupid reason, be it some twisted sense of honor or serving this hateful village, think of what your ... our death would mean. What would happen to Hinata? Do you think she will have the will to survive if both of us are gone? Even if she does, do you think she will find any sort of happiness? No, her life will be empty. Think of how it was before we met. Would you return to that hollow existence? And what of Anko? She may not be our mate, but she is our friend. Like us, she has few people who care about her. Losing us would be a hard blow for her. And then there's that hot Yamanaka. What is more honorable? Dieing because of stupid pride or for strangers? Or living for our loved ones?'

Naruto nodded in sadness.

Kyuubi smiled gently at her container. She had not chosen Hinata just on a whim. It was far more than that. Despite no longer being a moron, Naruto was still a human who had his head filled by foolish ideals. After all, the Academy was far more than a place to train children in the use of their bodies and chakra. It was also a place where children were brainwashed into the loyal Shinobi mindset. Even if Konoha shinobi were known as tree-hugger weaklings, a shinobi was a shinobi; they were assassins, killers and murderers, tools for their Kage. To control these dangerous humans, the village leaders employed (consciously and unconsciously) many different ways of control. The first one was the shinobi rules, but rules only take into account the rational part of a ninja. To deal with the other - the emotions, other methods were employed. Children were taught to love and revere their village and leaders. They were told stories of their great deeds. Emotional bonds were formed between teacher and student, teammates, clans and so on. These emotional bonds chained shinobi together. Then, they were further shackled by chains of human duty, honor and morality. The Hokage had turned Naruto into a boy who would love his village no matter what. Even after all these months, she was still dealing with the damage done by the old man. Sarutobi had manipulated young Naruto into loving his village no matter what. She doubted it was an unconscious action, after all he was a Kage. To climb to that height and survive to his long age, the man had to be an exceptional man. He would have found it easy to mold Naruto's mentality. At first, he showed Naruto that the Hokage was respected and loved by the villagers. Naturally, Naruto would want to be like the only person who showed him love. He would want to become the Hokage, and to become the Hokage, Naruto would have to have the qualities to go with the title. The old man told him that the Hokage serves, loves and protects his people with his life. So Naruto tried to become like the only source of kindness. He suppressed his anger, he forgave the villagers, he smiled and gave his all in becoming a good Ninja. Kyuubi doubted that Sarutobi considered this manipulation. For him, it was more like education, the way a parent or grandfather taught a child. For him, it was only a way of educating Naruto into becoming a loyal Konoha nin with the "will of fire." Still, that did not change the fact that it was also manipulation. What she tried to do with the boy was also manipulation, but unlike the old man, she had Naruto's best interest as her top priority. The Hokage's first priority was the village. After all, if Naruto was the man's first priority, he would have raised Naruto himself, even if it meant leaving the village.

Before she met Naruto, Hinata was a lost soul, filled by sorrow, searching for a place to belong. Some people would call the girl weak, but not all people were able to go through life alone and unloved. Even Kyuubi herself desired companionship. The difference between the Daemon Lord and the Hyuuga girl was that Kyuubi would be able to survive even if she lost all of her new friends. True, she would be sad, but it would not be the first time she lost everything. Even if her soul and Naruto's were chained together, she did not doubt that even they would not be together for eternity. After all, all good things come to an end, even if it takes eons.

But Hinata was not like her. She was so very fragile. Being alone would shatter her and Naruto knew it. This would make Naruto think twice before jumping to his death.

There were other reasons for her choice. Hinata was a Hyuuga. Even if she was part of the main branch, only one of her children would remain in the main family. The rest would have the curse seal applied to them before being sent to the branch family. Yes, Hinata wanted to change that and Naruto would want to help her, but even if Hinata became the clan leader, the rest of the main family would be opposed to the abolition of the Hyuuga curse seal. After all, there was a reason why the seal had been applied for generations. There must have been clan leaders and main family members who did not want to brand all but one of their children as slaves. And yet, for generations it happened. She doubted that the clan could be changed by mere words. This would be another reason for Naruto to abandon the village. Hopefully, her container would eventually learn that his priority was not the village, Fire country or the whole world, but their new family.

"My Naruto," Kyuubi continued out loud, "you must learn that there is always someone stronger and fighting with someone that is on a whole level than you is foolish."

"I understand," Naruto said.

**-x-x-x-**

**Author's Note:** Next chapter, someone will discover Naruto's secret. By my timeline, the academy ark will end in about two chapters.

**Thank you for reading and reviewing.**

Published: November 3, 2009.

-voider-

-x-x-x-


	10. Chapter 10 Revelations

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 10.**

**Revelations.**

**-x-x-x-**

**-x-x-x-**

For two weeks, ever since Ino first started to spend time with Hinata and Naruto, she watched her two new friends walk away for their daily training at the end of classes.

Somehow, these few hours she was together with them were becoming more precious as the days passed. She always felt sad when Hinata and Naruto left together, leaving her alone. Her mind knew that the two were more than friends and that she was nothing more than an acquaintance, but her heart told her that she should be with them. That they belonged together. Even though they began to spend time with her, she knew that their initial interest in her must have been due to her mind attacks. Naruto never said it outright, but she was not a Yamanaka for nothing. She knew that the very first thing that worried them was that she would give their secrets away. Now that she thought about it, this was why Kyuubi told her to look into Sasuke's mind. Had she not done so, she was certain that her former fangirl personality would have been tempted to spill Naruto's secret to Sasuke in order to gain some sort of attention. Now though ... she had no interest in the last Uchiha.

Ino smiled at Naruto and Hinata. "See you tomorrow," she said with a wave of her hand. The girl expected nothing more than the usual partings, but she was surprised by Naruto's words.

"You want to come train with us?" he asked.

Ino nodded slowly. "Yes, I'd like that."

"Great," Naruto said. He grabbed Ino's shoulder, then Hinata's. Ino felt her stomach lurch, her vision darkened, and then, she was somewhere else.

Glancing around, she recognized the place from Naruto's memories. It was his new home.

"You want to spar?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah," Ino nodded, "but first, I want to see you and Hinata spar, if you don't mind."

"Sure," Naruto said.

Hinata and Naruto moved away from Ino and faced each other. Both fell into their fighting stances. Seconds passed while both looked as if they were frozen, and then, they both moved towards each other. When they met, Hinata's hands began to blur towards Naruto. Naruto's hands were just as fast. His hands intercepted the girl's hands, diverting most of them even before they got close to their target. Some of the deceptively gentle hits were barely diverted and occasionally, Naruto was forced to shift his body back or sideways to evade Hinata's fingers.

"Impressive, is it not?" a voice behind Ino said.

The blond haired girl whirled around to come face to face with a red haired girl. "Kyuubi."

"Ino-chan," Kyuubi purred. "I am so very glad you decided to come."

"Actually, it was Naruto's idea."

**-x-x-x-**

Yamanaka Inoichi stared at his daughter Ino as she inhaled the food in front of her. He had just returned from a two-weeks mission and he was surprised by the change in his daughter. Usually, she ate little due to her diet. Before he left, he'd noticed that Ino no longer gushed about her "Sasuke-kun". He had hoped that his princess would finally take being a kunoichi seriously. The amount of food she ate was barely enough for a civilian, let alone a growing ninja. No matter how much he and her mother told her to eat more, she never listened, because "Sasuke-kun" liked slim girls.

Inoichi doubted that the brat liked anything. From the boy's psych evaluation, he wondered how long the boy would survive in the field. There was no doubt that the boy was skilled, but he was ruled by his emotions. His all consuming desire to prove himself the strongest, would probably lead to an untimely death. Still, if he managed to live a few years, he would be quite a shinobi.

The boy was strong, but he was no Itachi. Itachi was cool and logical in the field of battle. Sasuke was ruled by emotions. When the boy would finally fight his brother, Itachi would have no problem with dealing with a less skilled, mentally unstable Sasuke.

Ino hadn't mentioned Sasuke for some time. Inoichi could only hope that Ino got over her infatuation towards the last loyal Uchiha.

Ino finished eating and rose to her feat. "Thank you for the meal," she told her mother then headed upstairs to her room.

Half an hour later, Ino came down. "Mom, daddy, I'm going to train," she said.

Inoichi smiled. Finally, his daughter decided to take her training seriously. "Okay, princess. Say hi to Shikamaru and Chouji from me."

Ino stilled at her father's words. "I'm not training with them."

"Oh?"

"I'm training with Hinata and Naruto," she said looking at her father for a reaction.

"I see," Inoichi said, not giving one. "Have fun."

**-x-x-x-**

Naruto was watching Ino dodging Anko's attacks with a look of amusement on his face.

At first, Ino thought that she would be able to keep up with Naruto and Hinata. Unfortunately for the girl, she was wrong. Naruto was physically strong and fast. Thanks to clone training, he was also skilled. Hinata was intensively trained since she could walk. Now that she had Naruto and Kyuubi to support her, she was no longer the meek girl. Ino expected for Hinata and Naruto to be stronger than her. What she didn't expect was for them to be stronger than her for hours. Hinata was able to train for hours and Naruto had an unlimited supply of stamina.

For someone like Ino who trained rarely and ate little, It came as a shock the effort put into training by her two new friends.

Naruto was not too worried though. Anko promised that she'd have Ino in top shape by the time she became a genin.

Naruto felt one of his clones disperse and he looked away from Ino.

The Hokage walked slowly towards him and Naruto gave him a smile and a wave in greetings.

**-x-x-x-**

The Ino-Shika-Cho team moved stealthily, careful not to be seen by their target.

"So, this is where he lives now," Yamanaka Inoichi muttered.

"Inoichi," Nara Shikaku whispered, "do you really think this is a good idea? If she finds out about this, she'll be troublesome."

"Yeah," Akimichi Chouza agreed. "She'll be very upset if she finds out that we were spying on her."

"She's my daughter," Inoichi replied. "I have the right to see to her safety."

Shikaku shook his head. "She isn't going to see it like that."

"She's not going to see it at all," Inoichi said firmly. "We aren't going to tell her about this, so we have nothing to worry about."

"Inoichi, what if she sees us?" Chouza asked.

"We are elite shinobi and she isn't even a genin yet."

The Nara clan leader shook his head. "What about the boy?"

"What about him?" Inoichi grumbled.

"You shouldn't underestimate him," the Nara cautioned. "Even before he decided to take being a ninja seriously, he had a knack with stealth and traps. There's more than one ANBU that can attest to that."

"You think he can spot us?" Inoichi scoffed.

"Yes," a voice from behind them said.

As one, the ninja trio whirled around, ready for anything except what was in front of them. "Hiashi!?"

"What are you doing here?" Inoichi hissed at the pale eyed man.

Hiashi said nothing but point a finger in the distance. The trio looked at what they were pointed. For a minute, nothing happened, and then a small fox jumped from a bush and looked around.

"That is one of Naruto's summons," Hiashi said. "This is the closest we can go without being spotted by them."

"He has fox summons?" Chouza asked in a shaken voice.

"Yes," the Hyuuga replied.

The Yamanaka clan head started to jump towards his daughter, but Shikaku stopped him. "Inoichi, don't do anything stupid. It's just a summon, it's not like the Kyuubi escaped." The Nara clan head glanced at Hiashi. "Right, Hiashi? There's nothing to worry about."

"Indeed," Hiashi nodded. "The Hokage knows about this, so there is no need to worry about it."

"Right," Shikaku nodded. "See Inoichi? The Hokage knows about this. There's nothing to worry about. That's not the Kyuubi, just a summon. Right?" he asked Hiashi.

"Indeed," Hiashi replied with a small smirk. The Hyuuga clan head made a hand seal to activate the Byakugan. The pale eyed man fell silent for a few seconds. "That is not Kyuubi. Kyuubi is two kilometers in that direction."

"Hiashi," Shikaku said in exasperation. "You should know better than that. The boy is just the container. He is not the Kyuubi."

"I am well aware of that," Hiashi stated.

The three men froze at Hiashi's words.

"Hiashi..." Shikaku's voice trembled. "Are you telling us that the Kyuubi escaped from the seal?"

"No. I believe that the Kyuubi and Uzumaki came to an agreement. The Kyuubi has been able to manifest outside the seal for a while." Hiashi narrowed his eyes at Inoichi, who looked as if he was about to do something stupid. "Do not do anything hasty. Your daughter is quite safe."

"Safe?" the Yamanaka snarled. "My daughter is about to come into close proximity with the strongest of the Biju! I am not going to let my little girl anywhere near that monster."

Hiashi narrowed his eyes slightly. "Yamanaka Inoichi! I am not exaggerating when I say that there is no safer place for your daughter than in the company of Uzumaki Naruto and his prisoner. My Hinata is also in their company, and I am more than certain that she is safe with them. The Kyuubi is very protective towards our daughters. They are in no danger from the Kyuubi." The blond man looked as he was about to disregard the pale-eyed man's words and go towards his daughter. "Inoichi," Hiashi continued, "the Hokage is well aware of all this. You would do a grave mistake if you did something without his approval."

"I think we should all go see the Hokage," the Nara said.

"Inoichi, let's not be hasty," Chouza said. "Ino was safe enough until now. Let's go see Hokage-sama. If we go, I am sure he'll put your fears to rest."

"But, Ino..."

"Ino is safe," Shikaku grumbled. "And if you head in there in your present state, you're liable to do something stupid. Now, don't be troublesome and let's go see the Hokage."

Inoichi nodded grudgingly. "Very well."

**-x-x-x-**

Sarutobi Hiruzen heard a knock on his office door. "Enter," he said and the door opened to let four clan heads in.

The first one was Hiashi and following him was a placid looking Nara, a distraught Yamanaka and a worried Akimichi. The four men lined up before his desk and bowed. "Hokage-sama."

"Hiashi, Inoichi, Shikaku, Chouza," the Hokage nodded at the visitors. "What can I do for you?"

"You can start with, why is the Kyuubi able and allowed to manifest?" Inoichi paused for a moment and then added, "Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi lit his pipe and took a deep breath. He turned his head and stared at the Hokage monument for a long time. "And how did you get this idea, if I may ask?" Sarutobi finally said.

"That would be my fault, Hokage-sama," Hiashi stated.

"I see. And why would you think that the Kyuubi is able to manifest, Hiashi?"

"I am the Hyuuga clan head," Hiashi replied. "My eyes see everything."

Sarutobi stared at the pale eyed man.

"Like your meeting with Uzumaki Naruto," Hiashi added. "I was curious of my daughters new friend and I followed her on one of her visits to Naruto's home.

"That was a week ago," Sarutobi pointed out. "Why is it that you come here today?"

"Since it was obvious that you were aware and approved of the situation, I thought it was best not to interfere. My daughter has shown a great improvement in her ninja skills and confidence since she began to associate with young Naruto, so I believed that this was a beneficial situation for both Hinata and Naruto. However, Inoichi is worried of the situation. He was about to enter the area where he would no longer be able to mask his presence from Naruto's scouts."

"So you told him about the Kyuubi."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Hiashi said.

"Very well," Sarutobi nodded at Hiashi before looking at Inoichi. "Inoichi?"

"Is the Kyuubi free?"

The Third Hokage sighed and took a deep breath of smoke. "The answer to that question is, yes and no. The Kyuubi is able to manifest on a limited scale. Naruto has the ability to allow her consciousness to manifest in a shadow clone."

"Hokage-sama, is the seal broken?" the Nara asked.

"No," Sarutobi shook his head. "The seal remains unchanged. There is no reason to worry about it. Her ability to manifest is contingent on Naruto's approval."

"Hokage-sama, is this wise?" Shikaku asked. "Kyuubi is a daemon. He is not to be trusted. Even if he behaved himself until now, there is no reason to believe that he will continue to do so."

"Actually," Hiashi said, "Kyuubi is female."

The members of the Ino-Shika-Cho widened their eyes in surprise.

"Really?" Chouza asked.

"Indeed." Hiashi replied.

"Troublesome," Shikaku grumbled.

"It doesn't matter if the Kyuubi is female or male," Inoichi said. "She is still a Biju."

"Shikaku, what would you suggest?" the old Hokage asked.

"The boy should be told to not allow the Kyuubi to manifest. We should also see if we can apply a new seal to suppress Kyuubi's ability to come into physical or mental contact with Naruto and her ability to manifest, even if Naruto allows it. After all, the Kyuubi is guilty of the death of many of our shinobi and civilian population. Even if you chose to allow the boy to have a normal childhood, unlike the weapon others wanted him to become, the fact is that the boy has the potential to be as strong as any Kage. We can not allow such a potentially powerful shinobi to be influenced by the Kyuubi. If we do, then we risk having Naruto influenced by the daemon."

"I've had a few conversations with the Kyuubi," Sarutobi said. "I do not believe that to be the case. From what I gathered, Kyuubi has no other desire than to protect Naruto and his friends."

"Hokage-sama," Inoichi said, "she's a daemon. She must be lying."

The Nara clan head nodded. "I have to say that I agree. I see no logical reason to allow any form of contact between Uzumaki Naruto and the Kyuubi. Considering the villagers opinion towards Naruto, I'd say that there is a big chance that the Kyuubi will be able to manipulate the boy into losing his loyalty towards Konoha."

Sarutobi grimaced and shook his head. If he were to seal Kyuubi's ability to contact Naruto and her ability to manifest, the blond boy would never forgive him. It might even drive him past the braking point. It was Kyuubi that turned his life for the better. Sarutobi had no doubt that Naruto remained loyal to him and the Village. But now that he had people he loved and loved him back, Naruto would never allow anyone to harm them. If the Hokage were to do as Shikaku proposed, Naruto would see it as a betrayal, as harming his friend. Sarutobi shook his head. He didn't have the heart to separate Naruto from one of his few friends. It was fortunate that doing what was best for Naruto coincided with doing what is best for Konoha. "I do not think that Kyuubi has any desire to destroy Konoha," the Hokage said.

"How can you say that, Hokage-sama?" Inoichi asked. "If not for the Fourth, the Kyuubi would have destroyed us."

"Yes," Sarutobi sighed. "I've discussed this with Kyuubi. According to her, she may not be completely at fault for her attack."

Shikaku narrowed his head in suspicion. "Are you saying she was controlled? Was she under a Genjutsu?"

"She did not say," Sarutobi replied. "According to her, she was attacked while she was asleep ... by Konoha nin."

"That can't be!" Chouza exclaimed.

"Perhaps. It could be that this was an operation conducted by Konoha nin. I think it unlikely that Minato would have ordered such a thing, but there are others that might have ordered such an operation. It is also probable that an enemy of Konoha framed us."

"Does she have any clue about who would have done it?" Shikaku asked before adding, "Presuming that she was telling the truth."

"She says that she doesn't know. It may be that she has some suspicions, but she did not share them with me."

"Can we trust her words?" Hiashi asked.

"I put this very question to Enma - the monkey boss summon. According to him, daemons tend to tell the truth."

"Sometimes a truth can be more deceiving than a thousand lies," Shikaku said.

"Indeed, I am well aware of that," Sarutobi grunted. "Even so, I do not believe that Kyuubi cares about us. She sees humans as irritations. However, she cares about Naruto, Hinata and Ino. I believe she is fond of them. It's one of the reasons I allowed her to interact with Naruto."

The Nara clan head nodded slowly. "Because if she begins to care about Naruto and his friends, then she is unlikely to harm them, and by extension, Konoha. But, can we truly trust that she cares about them? Is it not possible that she is just deceiving us? Or more likely, that she begins to care about them the way a Aburame cares about their insects? If it means that she will be free of the seal, wouldn't she sacrifice them the way an Aburame sacrifices part of the hive in battle?"

"I believe that the seal used to imprison the Kyuubi would make that unlikely," the Hokage said. "Do you know that there was another Biju that was sealed using a similar seal? It was when Sand first sealed the One Tail. Shukaku was driven insane as the result of the sealing. The monk who performed the seal wanted to be immortal, so he sealed his soul as well. He became one with the One Tail. The Daemon was not what we can call stable and when he absorbed the monk's soul - a soul that was far more insane than the Biju, it resulted into the bloodthirsty Shukaku who revels in blood and death."

"And Kyuubi's sealing was similar?" Shikaku asked.

"Minato wanted to destroy the Kyuubi once and for all. His plan was that when Naruto died, the link created between Kyuubi and Naruto would kill not only Naruto, but Kyuubi as well. According to the Kyuubi, that is not what will happen. Similar to the way the mad monk became a part of Shukaku, Naruto too will become part of Kyuubi. She'll still die and it might take longer for her to manifest, but it is impossible for a mortal to kill her."

"I bet she wasn't too pleased about that," Chouza muttered.

"At first she was not," Sarutobi nodded gravely. "But now, I believe that she is pleased with the situation. While for us, merging with a second soul would be ... unpleasant, for Kyuubi's alien mind, it is quite different. I believe she enjoys the company. One day, Naruto will die and they'll become one. Enma thinks that this will not change Kyuubi that much. Unlike the One Tail, Kyuubi is far more stable and intelligent. The most likely result is that Naruto's personality will have a small influence on Kyuubi's mind. It is also possible that Naruto's whole personality will survive and he'll be able to influence her to some extent. From my talks with Kyuubi, she concurs with this. For that reason, I believe that Kyuubi is unlikely to cause harm to Naruto. She cares far too little of Konoha to jeopardize her future just to get rid of a few humans. She will not risk her relation with Naruto just to kill us."

"I think I understand," the Nara clan head said. "She wants a companion and an ally in Naruto."

"Indeed," Sarutobi nodded. "For that reason, I do not doubt that she will protect him and his friends."

"And the village by extension," Hiashi added.

"I wouldn't be too sure on that," Shikaku said. "I don't think he's that well liked in the village."

"Actually," Sarutobi replied, "Naruto begun to get along with his classmates this year. He is very good friends with Hinata and Ino and on somewhat friendly terms with Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji. I believe that these bonds of friendship will help both Naruto and his friends."

"Inoichi," Hiashi said. "I believe that this means that we are not to interfere in Naruto's friendship with our daughters."

Inoichi clenched his teeth in anger and glared at the Hyuuga.

"Remember that you are not Hyuuga," Hiashi stated.

"And what do you mean by that?" Inoichi snarled.

"I merely remind you that while I - as the Hyuuga clan head, will always be able to forbid Hinata to interact with young Uzumaki, you will loose that right when your daughter comes of age or she becomes a genin. Only we, the Hyuuga clan have such rights toward our clan members. The Yamanaka have no such privilege. I think it would be wise to let the children... enjoy their friendship."

"Their friendship with Kyuubi," Inoichi said flatly. "Do you know how many of my clan Kyuubi killed? I have no problem with the boy. I know he is not the Kyuubi. But I can not trust my daughter's safety to that thing."

"And are you going to forbid her from seeing her new friends?" Hiashi asked. "Perhaps you preferred it when she was infatuated with the Uchiha child. I am curious what reason you will give her for forbidding her to see the boy."

"She will understand."

"I doubt it. After all, she is her mother's daughter," Hiashi said with a small smirk and Inoichi winced.

Sarutobi leaned into his seat, wondering why Hiashi was trying to help Naruto. The most likely answer was that he had something to gain from this. Hiashi knew how much Sarutobi cared for the blond boy. By informing Inoichi that Kyuubi was able to manifest and then supporting the boy, Hiashi had to have gained something. Somehow, Sarutobi doubted that Hiashi did it out of the goodness of his heart. Still, if Hiashi managed to convince Inoichi to let his daughter be friends with Naruto, Sarutobi would owe the Hyuuga a large debt. Even if he wouldn't be able, he did try. But there had to be more to it than this. Most likely, Hiashi was trying to pave the road to a future alliance with Naruto. If Naruto discovers that Hiashi gave Naruto some help from behind the scenes, the blond would feel indebted to Hiashi. But perhaps there was more to it than even this. While most Hyuuga took pride in their eyes, few of them were able to see beyond their pride. Perhaps Hiashi was able to see what the villagers refused to see That Naruto and Minato were... That would make Hiashi think favorably towards the Fourth's legacy.

"I doubt that you will be able to convince young Ino that she should distance herself from her new friend," Hiashi continued.

"One day, she'll understand why I did it," Inoichi said.

"She would not need to wait," Sarutobi stated. "Inoichi, your daughter knows that Kyuubi is sealed in Naruto. She has also met Kyuubi." Inoichi opened his mouth to add something, but the Hokage cut him off, "She also knows that Kyuubi is Kyuubi. No doubt, you thought that Naruto kept it secret from her. You are wrong. Naruto told Ino about Kyuubi and your daughter accepted his explanation. If you wish to tell your daughter that you are the same as the villagers who hate Naruto, then by all means, do it. I can not stop you."

"Hokage-sama," Inoichi sighed, "I do not hate the boy. But Kyuubi..."

"I understand. Do as you wish, Inoichi," Sarutobi said. "I can not force you to do anything. Ino is not yet a genin. However, I believe that it would be wiser to not interfere. You are quite right to say that Kyuubi is dangerous. She decided to attack Konoha because someone disturbed her sleep. Think of the advantage of having her as a protector for your daughter and the village. Before you leave you should know that Kyuubi's ability to manifest is an S-rank secret. If I hear that this information was spread about the village, I will be very ... displeased."

**-x-x-x-**

**Author's Note:** One thing about Naruto teaching the Shadow Clone to Hinata or Ino. Not going to happen for some time. Naruto is a chakra monster and he has a particular affinity towards this technique. You have to have medium Chuunin chakra reserves and control to make just ONE clone. At this point in time, Ino might die of chakra exhaustion if she tried to make a clone. Hinata might be able to do it... but she still has too little chakra to make proper use of it. (What use is a clone, if you exhaust yourself creating it?) Only a Jounin can afford to expend the chakra for a clone

**Thank you for reading and reviewing.**

Published: December 15, 2009.

-voider-

-x-x-x-


	11. Chapter 11 Team

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 11.**

**Team.**

**-x-x-x-**

Naruto sat down on a bench and stared in the eyes of his opponent. "This time, I'll definitely win," he said with confidence.

Nara Shikamaru smirked. "Want to bet on that?"

"What's the stake?" Naruto asked. Before meeting Kyuubi, he would have said yes without thinking, even if he had no idea how to play shoji. If he did that now however, Kyuubi would be really upset, and for good reason. At first, she'd despaired of his usual "jump headlong without thinking" mindset, but he was better now. A friendly bet was well and good, but he now understood the difference between confidence and delusion. Like the delusion of yelling to everyone he was going to be Hokage. If he were honest to himself, Naruto was a little embarrassed now.

"The loser treats everyone to lunch," Shikamaru said, interrupting Naruto's thoughts.

Naruto glanced at Chouji, who perked up at his friend's words.

"Okay," Naruto said.

**-x-x-x-**

"I win," Shikamaru declared. "Again."

Naruto sighed in disappointment. "Yeah. And I was sure I was going to finally get you."

"Well," Shikamaru shrugged, "don't feel sorry about it. You've gotten a lot better since our last game. I'm actually surprised that your skill rose so quickly."

"Well, I've been practicing," the masked Naruto explained. It had not been too hard to put a few clones to play among themselves. Naruto actually enjoyed it. True, he loved training, but sometimes the mind numbing repetition begun to tire not only his clones, but Naruto himself. Fortunately, training was not all he did. He still had over fifty solid clones that worked. He also had fifty more clones who did nothing else but read. When combined, all these different types of memories combined into a daily experience that balanced itself. The one thing Naruto could not say was that he was bored.

"Well, better luck next time," Shikamaru smirked.

"Yeah," Naruto sighed. "So, where to?"

Shikamaru looked over Naruto and his smirk grew wider. He deserved it for being so troublesome. He wouldn't have done this to the old Naruto, whose weapons and clothes were far below quality. This new Naruto, however, would be able to afford it.

**-x-x-x-**

Naruto, Hinata, Ino and Chouji followed Shikamaru toward the merchant district. They passed Ichiraku, and Naruto realized that he'd never been anywhere else to eat as himself, without a disguise. He'd sometimes eat with the girls at the ramen stand, but usually, they ate at Naruto's home.

'Well, it is time to let them know,' Kyuubi said from the back of his mind.

'Are you sure? What if they react the way they did before?'

'You're having lunch with four clan heirs,' Kyuubi replied. 'Do you think even they can be stupid enough to do anything? Besides, what's the worst that can happen? It's not like even before we met, they tried all that much.'

Naruto nodded to himself. That was true. They mostly threw him out. It was a rare thing for them to try anything physical. Still, the rejection he received hurt worse than physical pain ever did.

'And if they were to throw you out now, then what?' Kyuubi asked. 'Do their feelings count at all?'

Naruto gave a gentle smile. 'No. I have you, and Hinata and Ino now; Anko and the old man; some of my classmates are a pretty good sort too.'

If some, (or most, if he was honest to himself,) villagers disliked him, why would that matter to him? He had people he cared for and loved, that returned his feelings.

The group finally stopped in front of a fancy restaurant and Naruto resisted the urge to demonstrate some of his new skills to the Nara boy.

**-x-x-x-**

Yamanaka Inoichi covertly observed the five Academy students, enter one of the better restaurants in Konoha. He transformed himself into a nondescript civilian and followed them inside.

The children were ushered to a good table and Inoichi selected a table that had a good view of Naruto and the two girls with him.

The Yamanaka clan head watched the overly polite waiter begin to take the children's order. When he got to a stiff and tensed Naruto, he seemed a little perplexed that Naruto still had his white mask on, but he said nothing and took his order.

Inoichi watched the children banter among themselves, and gradually, Naruto relaxed.

When the food finally came - one portion each for Shikamaru, Naruto, Ino and Hinata, and a restrained three for Chouji, both Shikamaru and the waiter stared at Naruto, who still had his mask on.

For a moment, Inoichi thought that Naruto was skilled enough to eat like Kakashi, but then, Naruto lowered his mask with what looked like reluctance.

The look in the waiter's face was priceless. As if he'd invited a good friend into his house, only to discover that he was actually a disguised ... daemon.

Shikamaru glanced from Naruto to the waiter, whose mouth was opened in surprise.

"You," the man hissed. "You..." The waiter's eyes widened and his pupils dilated. All of his muscles trembled, and for a moment, Inoichi thought that the man was about to faint.

This was focused killing intent, Inoichi realized.

Suddenly, the waiter took a step back, released from the killing intent. A cunning smirk came to the man's face.

Inoichi needed only a moment to realize the reason. The man now had a reason to throw Naruto out. Looks like the boy's rashness backfired, the Yamanaka clan head thought.

The waiter opened his mouth, but then, he froze. Inoichi wondered why and followed the man's gaze to his daughter's and Hinata's eyes.

The look on their faces made him gasp in surprise. His gentle daughter's face was too much like Anko's when she was about to spend some "quality time" with one of Ibiki's "guests".

Hinata's however, was even more disturbing. Her Byakugan was active. Her white, empty stare, coupled with the bulging veins around her eyes reminded him why the Hyuuga were so feared in close combat.

Hinata said only one word. "Leave." She didn't say it in a threatening tone. It was a statement. An order. The man glanced to Naruto, who looked at the girls with a soft smile, then at Shikamaru, whose eyes were narrowed at Hinata's eyes, at Chouji, who was busy with his food and finally at Ino, who sneered in disgust. The man nodded nervously, and left.

Shikamaru glanced between Naruto and the two girls, before muttering something under his breath, (probably "troublesome") and started to eat.

**-x-x-x-**

"Well, it's time to go to our training," Ino said after their lunch.

"Yeah," Shikamaru groaned. "Ino," The young Nara looked at the blond girl and sighed. "You want to come train with Chouji and I?" From his tone, it was obvious that the lazy Nara had no desire to do something as troublesome as training.

"Huh?" Ino stared at Shikamaru as if he grew a second head. "You train?"

"Sometimes," the boy admitted reluctantly, "when mom gets too troublesome."

"So you want me to train with you?

"And Chouji."

"Why?"

"Well, traditionally, our clan members end up in the same team more often than not. Given who we are and who our parents are, it's almost certain that we'll be placed in the same team. Dad said it would be a good idea if we started to train together."

Chouji grunted in agreement.

Ino's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "I think I'd rather continue to train with Naruto-kun and Hinata-chan."

"Okay," Shikamaru nodded.

"Okay?"

"Yes, Dad told me to ask you to train together. Since you have a different training program, I won't have to do something troublesome like training. I'd rather use my free time with something that is not troublesome, like cloud watching."

"Of course you would," Ino said with a fond smile.

"Well, we'll be off," Ino said.

Naruto, Hinata and Ino jumped away and Shikamaru sighed. "That was so troublesome!" Shikamaru groaned.

Besides him, Chouji grunted in agreement, opened a bag and started to munch on his chips.

**-x-x-x-**

Naruto and the two girls jumped down in the clearing in front of Naruto's house. The boy looked at his companions and smiled in gratitude. "Thank you for what you did back there," he said.

Hinata put her arms around Naruto. "They have no right to behave like that," Hinata said fiercely. "And if anyone does it again, I'll do the same thing. I love you, Naruto-kun." Hinata gave Naruto a long kiss. "No one will hurt you if I can help it." Hinata released Naruto and glanced at Ino.

"That's right," Ino said fiercely. The blond hugged Naruto and buried her head in the crook of his neck. Ino sighed in contentment when Naruto ran his hands over her back. Suddenly, Ino realized how close she was to Naruto. She looked in his red-slit eyes, and remembered her visit in his mind. Those eyes gave her comfort and she lost herself in their depths. Without realizing it, her lips parted and locked to Naruto's. His hands tightened around her and Ino moaned when Naruto's tongue brushed against her lips. The blond allowed him entrance, enjoying the dance of their tongues.

Ino lost herself in the kiss. It felt so good and now she wondered why she hadn't done this before. No wander Hinata and Kyuubi...

Ino froze and ended her kiss with reluctance. She glanced at Hinata, but instead of anger, there was genuine happiness on the girls face.

Hinata smiled and gave Ino a soft kiss of welcome.

**-x-x-x-**

A week later, Inoichi decided to have a little talk with Ino.

"So, princess, how was your day?"

"The usual," Ino replied happily. "Hinata and Naruto are really good training partners. I've learned a lot from them."

"That's good. But what about Shikamaru and Chouji? Shikaku said you were going to start training together from now on?"

Ino stared at her father, who showed no sign of his inner machinations. Ever since she told her parents that she was training with Hinata and Naruto, she'd been waiting for them to interfere between her and Naruto. The girl shifted her eyes towards her mother, who wasn't as good as her husband at hiding her thoughts. "Why would I train with them? I prefer training with Hinata-chan and Naruto-kun."

"Well, you, Chouji and Shikamaru are likely to be on the same genin team."

"Why?"

"The members of the Nara, Inoichi and Akimichi clans have skills that complement each other, princess. Teams formed by members of our clans are preferred. And since Shikaku, Chouza and I were such a successful team, you, Shikamaru and Chouji are an obvious choice for a successful team."

"You could say that it's predestined," Ino's mother added. "It's not a coincidence that Shikamaru and Chouji are the same age as you. You grew up together with them, you are in the same class, so it would be obvious that you'd make a good team."

"I don't think I want to be in their team," Ino said slowly.

"Did you have a fight with them, dear?" her mother asked.

"No, mom. It's just that... well I think I'd do better if I were in the same team with Hinata and Naruto."

"But what about Shikamaru and Chouji?" Inoichi asked.

"To be honest, I don't think we'd make that good of a team. They're good guys, but we wouldn't work that well together. Shikamaru is... even lazier than his dad and Chouji is pretty laid back as well. I really like training with Hinata-chan and Naruto-kun. They train a lot and I need that."

"Well, I'm sure they'd be happy to train more..."

"No, they wouldn't," Ino cut off her father. "They would resent it. I don't see why you're so ... adamant on training with them. It's not like in the past we trained together." Ino stared at her parents until her mother looked away. "Or is it," Ino continued softly, "something else that bothers you?" the blond girl's eyes bored into her father's. "Is it Naruto-kun? Are you just like the rest of the villagers who despise him for something he never did?"

Inoichi flinched at the accusation. "No, Ino." Her daughter was obviously attached to the boy. He'd seen her, the boy and Hiashi's eldest interact and saw that their friendship was deep. As deep, or even deeper than he and his teammates had in their youth. By now, it was known in the village about Naruto's change. While alone, the boy was almost unnoticed by the villagers. However, by this time it was known that the three academy students were almost inseparable. When the villagers saw Hinata and Ino accompanied by Naruto's shadowy form, they knew who their masked companion was. He'd seen the look on both girls' faces when the villagers were showing their distain for the boy. He never wanted that look directed at him.

"Then it's Hinata-chan?" Ino asked skeptically.

"No."

"Anko-sensei? I thought you worked with her and didn't care about her former sensei."

Inoichi groaned. "Anko is training you?"

"Yes. Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, princess. Just... just try not to pick any of her bad habits."

Ino nodded. "I wasn't planning to. So, if you have no problem with the people I train with, what's the problem?"

Inoichi looked at his wife. "Dear, could I talk with Ino in private?"

"Of course," the woman nodded.

"I talked with the Hokage," Inoichi said once they were alone. "I understand that you know of Naruto's secret." At Ino's shrug, the man continued, "and I also know that ... Kyuubi is able to manifest."

"I see. Do you want me to end my friendship with Naruto?" Ino asked calmly.

Inoichi sighed at the mutinous look on his daughter's face. If he said yes, he might be able to keep Ino away from the danger that Naruto and Kyuubi represented, but it would not be for long. As soon as she graduated the Academy, she would become an adult by village law, and she would be able to do as she pleased.

"No, princess," the Yamanaka clan head, said. "However, Naruto's situation is complicated."

Ino narrowed her eyes at her father.

"You weren't born when Kyuubi attacked our village. If news of Kyuubi's new ability is revealed to the village, Naruto and anyone close to him will be in danger. I understand that he is your friend, but it would be safer for you if you distanced yourself from them."

"I'm not going to do that," Ino said.

Inoichi smiled slightly. "Yes, I thought you wouldn't. In that case, I want you to be ... careful. Kyuubi's rampage ended the lives of many of our people. Holding a daemon imprisoned is one thing, making friends with it is a whole different thing. You must understand that if word of this gets out, the villagers will be out for his blood."

Ino narrowed her eyes. "They'll be sorry if they do. He's strong enough to protect himself now."

"I know," Inoichi said. "However, you're not. Being known as someone close to Naruto could be dangerous."

"I know. That's why I've been training so hard lately."

"Yes, I noticed you progressed a lot in the clan techniques as well."

"So you're fine with Naruto?"

"Yes," Inoichi said.

Ino smiled and gave her father a hug. "Thank you daddy."

"Anything for you, princess."

Ino smiled innocently. "Then you could talk with the Hokage to put me in the same team with Naruto and Hinata?"

Inoichi's smile faltered. "But what about Shikamaru and Chouji? Besides... the composition of the teams is only up to the Hokage."

"But if you tell him that you're fine with me being in the same team with Naruto and Hinata, we'd have a much better chance to be in the same team. Besides, I know that while publicly that is true, most of the clan leaders can tell the Hokage of their preference for the teammates of those who are part of their clan. While that wouldn't work for every request, I'm sure that when it's about the clan heirs, the Hokage can be accommodating if he wants. I'm sure that if he'd know that you're in favor of us being together in the same team, he'd be more inclined to do it."

"I'll think about it," Inoichi sighed.

**-x-x-x-**

Hinata knocked at the door to Hiashi's personal dojo.

"Enter," the girl heard the Hyuuga clan leader's voice say.

"You wanted to see me, father?"

"Yes. Have you finished the technique I showed you?"

"Yes, father," Hinata said, a little reluctantly. She wondered if she would be required to demonstrate her technique, knowing that the most probable test dummy would be her little sister.

Fortunately, Hiashi didn't ask for a demonstration. Instead, he gave Hinata a new scroll. "This scroll will show you the main house's defensive technique - the Kaiten."

Hinata took the scroll from her father, not knowing what to say. "You may go," the man said.

Hinata nodded and left without a word.

Hiashi stared at his daughter's back without a hint of emotion on his face. He knew that Hinata was surprised that he hadn't asked for a demonstration of her technique.

The truth was that he had seen her perform it when she was training with Uzumaki. He would have liked for Hinata to demonstrate it personally to him, but such a release of chakra might draw unwanted attention. If the rest of the main family were to find out of his eldest rising skill, they would pressure him to choose her as the heir and brand his youngest child with the caged bird seal. He wanted to postpone this event as long as possible. As long as the older Hinata was seen as a failure and Hanabi as a genius, he would be able to postpone Hanabi's branding and the final selection of the Hyuuga heir. The longer he could wait, the better.

If both Hinata and Hanabi became powerful kunoichi, he could even be able to keep them both in the main family. If Naruto became as powerful as he thought, with his backing, Hinata might be able to keep Hanabi in the main family. Such things were not unheard of, though they were rare.

Generally, the main family had a constant number of members. Each of the elders had exactly one heir that would inherit the position at the death of the main family elder. It was a rare event for the number to increase, but it was not unheard of. For a moment, Hiashi was slightly tempted to assassinate one of the more annoying elders and his heir.

Unfortunately, he was the Hyuuga Clan Leader first and father second. Besides, given the present circumstances, he wouldn't be able to push one of his daughters into the position.

Hiashi still had hope that Hinata would gain enough strength to protect both her sister and clan. Uzumaki Naruto, and the power inside him would help her. Yes, he thought, it is the boy's fate to be strong. It is in his blood. The boy will be powerful. Powerful enough to protect my children from enemies inside and outside the clan and village.

**-x-x-x-**

Naruto an Ino watched Hinata closely as she stood in the middle of a clearing. Her father had given her another main branch technique - Kaiten. Hinata was about to try it for the first time.

The Hyuuga girl drew a deep breath, distanced one of her legs, put a hand in front and the other, symmetrically behind, and then, in an explosion of blue chakra, she spun.

For a second, everything seemed to go well, but then, she faltered and her perfect spin turned into an erratic one. Hinata's form begun to fall while still in a spin. The small crater made by Hinata's Kaiten deepened, and Hinata's speed bled off.

The girl tried desperately to stop herself, but she was too inexperienced with the technique. The shield of chakra disappeared, but Hinata was still spinning and she ended rolling away in an uncontrolled tumble. The girl slammed into a tree and groaned.

"Hinata!" Naruto and Ino rushed to the girl's side.

"I'm all right," Hinata gasped.

"You don't sound all right," Naruto said and begun to inspect Hinata for injuries. Despite training his chakra control for months, he still wasn't nearly anywhere close to the control a medic nin had. Still, he had Chuunin level chakra control, so he was able to perform a few simple medical techniques. Naruto breathed in relief when he realized Hinata's injuries were minor - only a few scratches. Naruto's hands begun to glow green and he slowly passed them over Hinata, who sighed in relief.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun," the girl said.

Naruto smiled and helped Hinata to her feet.

"So, what went wrong?" Ino asked.

"She just needs to practice more," Naruto said. "Learning any high level technique is supposed to be hard. The Kaiten necessitates not only a extreamly high level of control over your chakra, but also needs a huge amount of chakra. I doubt you'll be able to practice it more than once or twice per day, Hinata."

The Hyuuga girl nodded. "I know. I have to pour chakra through all of my chakra points and I have to balance it perfectly. The mental strain as well as the chakra drain is quite heavy."

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. "I doubt anyone else than a Hyuuga could do this technique. If you don't have the Byakugan, then not only you can't create a stable chakra sphere, but also, you can't keep yourself balanced."

Hinata nodded. "I need to constantly compensate for any change in the chakra sphere's structure. It must be spherical and remain of the same size. Keeping the sphere so stable is difficult even for a short time."

"That sounds pretty hard," Ino noted. "Isn't there another way to do it without needing to constantly compensate?"

"There could be, but that would mean far more power than the Kaiten. It requires a lot of power, but since the chakra is kept in the sphere, it is never lost, but recirculated through it."

"So if you wouldn't need to keep the chakra in check, it would require less concentration?" Ino deduced.

"Yes," Hinata nodded. "But only someone like Naruto-kun could do it. Though even with his chakra capacity," Hinata glanced at the boy in question," I doubt he would be able to make an effective defense."

Naruto nodded. "You're right. The only thing I could do is to blow out chakra. Since I don't have the Byakugan, it would be impossible to mold it into a sphere." Naruto's eyes widened and he looked off into space for a minute.

"Did you think of something?" Hinata asked.

Naruto grinned and nodded. "If I could use elemental manipulation, I think I could get a few useful techniques."

"Elemental manipulation is a Jounin technique," Ino said.

Naruto made a clone, who dashed toward the house to get some money, before heading into town. "I know, but that isn't going to stop me. I've read a few things on elemental manipulation and it wouldn't be too hard to begin training."

**-x-x-x-**

The children waited for the clone Naruto sent, to return. It gave each of the three children a small paper and dispelled.

"What's this?" Hinata asked.

"Chakra paper," Naruto explained. "Channel your chakra into the paper and we'll see what our affinity is."

The girls nodded and channeled their chakra through the paper. Hinata's paper became wet and Ino's crumpled.

"Hinata, you're water, and Ino, you're lightning."

"What about you?" Ino asked.

Naruto channeled his chakra through the paper. It split into two and the pieces dampened. "Huh," Naruto observed.

"What?"

"I have two types," He said. "Wind and water."

"Is that unusual?" Ino asked.

"Not really. It isn't unusual, but it isn't that frequent, either."

"So what are you going to learn?" Hinata asked.

"Well," Naruto said slowly, "Affinities can be trained. I think I originally had only the wind affinity, but because of how much time I spend training my chakra on the lake - manipulating water, I gained a second affinity. Theoretically, anyone can master all affinities, though practically, that is extremely difficult."

"But since you can train with your shadow clones," Hinata said, "you can train all of them."

"Yes. There's a simple leaf exercise where you try to split, burn, crumple, dampen or crumble a leaf. It requires little chakra, so you girls could do it too.

The girls nodded. "Naruto-kun, are you going to tell us what idea you had about the Kaiten and elemental affinity?"

"Oh, that," he nodded. "Well, the concept is pretty simple. Instead of controlling the chakra into a tightly controlled sphere that defends, I could expel chakra from all my chakra points and turn it into wind elemental chakra, for example. I wouldn't bother to keep it into a perfect sphere."

"You could use it as an offensive shield," Hinata breathed.

"Yes," Naruto nodded. "Unfortunately, that would also mean that it wouldn't be good to have any allies close by."

The girls nodded soberly, realizing what someone with Naruto's chakra could do.

**-x-x-x-**

**Author's Note**: Sorry for the delay... real life issues. With this, I've finished with Naruto's pre-Academy days. Next chapter will be the Academy graduation.

Published: June 12, 2010;

-voider-


	12. Chapter 12 Graduation part 1

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter 12.**

**Graduation part 1.**

**-x-x-x-**

Umino Iruka entered into his classroom with his friend Mizuki. He smiled gently at his excited students and stepped in front of the room. "Today we'll be having your graduation exam. If you pass, you will be able to become proud genin of Konoha. We'll begin with the written exam."

After Mizuki gave the students the tests, Iruka looked at the classroom clock. "You have an hour from ... now." The students flipped over their tests and began. Iruka watched his students carefully. This wasn't like the chuunin exam where you had to, or were expected to cheat. No, if any of his students were caught cheating, they would fail. Only those who had the minimum knowledge required or were skilled enough to cheat without being caught, would pass.

I hope they all pass, he thought. Well almost all of them, Iruka amended. He was, to say the least, conflicted with Uzumaki Naruto. Before the boy became a member of his class, he was so much more different. Even if the monster that was sealed in the boy killed his parents, Iruka could still chuckle when he performed one of his infamous pranks. And then, inevitably, he remembered the Kyuubi and the humor turned sour.

The last of Naruto's pranks Iruka could remember was almost a year old. Now, looking at the masked boy, quietly doing his test, it was hard to remember that face, the laugh and the pain hidden behind those blue eyes.

That blank mask made it easy to forget he was Uzumaki Naruto. But it also made it easy to think of the boy as the container and not the child he was. He disliked teaching the boy, but Iruka had his orders from the Hokage. Iruka didn't know what happened, but the Third had made it clear he would no longer tolerate any unfair action towards Naruto. Iruka was a good ninja and he respected the old Hokage. He'd done his best to behave normally towards the boy. He'd told the Hokage he would treat the boy fairly. Still, Iruka could not help but be a little cool toward Naruto, but he had never been unfair.

An hour later, the test was over. After gathering the tests, Iruka gave his class two free hours before the practical test.

**-x-x-x-**

Iruka and Mizuki were grading the students' tests in silence when Mizuki sniffed in disgruntlement.

"What is it?" Iruka asked.

Mizuki glared at one of the tests for a few seconds, then passed it to Iruka in silence.

"Ah," Iruka said. It was Naruto's test. And apparently he'd done well enough. It was nowhere near as good as Sakura's or Sasuke's, but it was well above average. It was a typical result for the blond boy. He'd been surprised at his results. Everybody knew he was bad at tests. In fact, he was supposed to be bad at every aspect of the Shinobi arts. The only thing he excelled at was his endless stamina and stubbornness. Of course all that changed when he was placed in his class. He'd become all of a sudden, the second ranked student. The only thing that kept him from becoming the rookie of the class was his relatively low test scores.

"I see," Iruka said neutrally after he finished looking over the paper. He returned it to Mizuki and continued with his own test.

**-x-x-x-**

When Iruka entered the class, Naruto was sitting patiently in his chair, between Ino and Hinata - the heirs to the Yamanaka and Hyuuga clans. The two girls were as calm as Naruto and despite his dislike for the boy, Iruka had to admit that the two girls grew up a lot. Ino used to be a fan-girl who trained little and cared more for her figure and dream of becoming the last Uchiha's wife than her future as a Kunoichi. Hinata used to have an even worse problem. She was painfully shy and had no self esteem. Needless to say, girls like their former selves had a low probability of becoming competent kunoichi.

"It looks like you all passed your written tests," Iruka said with approval in his voice. "If you pass the practical exam, you will receive your headband." Iruka paused a little and nodded at Shino. "You will enter the examination room, one by one starting with Shino, and do the replacement, clone and transformation techniques." Iruka smiled reassuringly at his students. "Good luck and do your best."

**-x-x-x- **

One by one, Iruka's students entered and performed their techniques. Finally, Naruto's time came. He entered the examination room and nodded politely at his teachers.

"Please do a replacement with that log," Iruka said.

Naruto performed the hand-seals needed for the technique and was replaced with the log in a puff of smoke.

Iruka nodded approvingly. It was a good technique, for a student. "Good, now do a transformation."

Naruto performed the hand-seals and the Third Hokage image appeared over Naruto after a puff of smoke.

"And now, the clone technique."

Naruto once again performed the technique's hand-seals. This time, the smoke was noticeably more evident and three clones of Naruto appeared around the student. While Naruto's other two techniques were better, his clone technique was still above average for a student. "Congratulations, Naruto. You are now a genin of Konoha. This headband is now yours."

"Thank you, Iruka-sensei," Naruto said politely. The new genin stepped forward and grabbed the last headband. For a moment, Naruto stood with the object in his hand, staring at it.

"No need to stare at it, genin," Mizuki said. "It's a headband. You usually put it on your forehead."

Naruto glanced away from the object in question and to Mizuki. "I am aware of that. That placement is however... unsuitable." Naruto opened his ANBU-style cloak, bend and tied the headband above his right knee. He stood up, and the headband was covered by the cloak. He nodded at his teachers for the past year politely. He could tell that they didn't like him, but unlike all of his former Academy instructors, they treated him fairly and never tried to teach him wrongly.

As he left through the door, he thought of his hidden skills. He wasn't the foolish, boastful boy he was a year before, but he didn't really enjoy hiding his skills. He would have liked to see the expression on the face of his teachers had he performed the three techniques without seals. He had mastered all of the techniques he knew like no other ninja and he was proud of it.

'But you understand that these skills must be kept discrete,' Kyuubi said in his mind.

'I know,' Naruto sighed. 'It's just that it still feels a little deceitful.'

'I understand,' Kyuubi replied. 'But the Academy results are relatively public for Konoha Ninja. It would be unwise to let them know your strengths. You know that most of Konoha can't be trusted.'

Naruto grimaced at the reminder that he wasn't liked by the villagers.

'It's not like it is treason,' Kyuubi continued. 'Every good ninja knows to hide their abilities. If it was wrong, Anko or the Hokage would have told you not to hide your skills.'

**-x-x-x-**

Sarutobi's secretary knocked at his door.

"Yes?"

"Hiashi-sama is here to see you, Hokage-sama."

"Send him in."

The Hyuuga clan head entered and bowed. "Hokage-sama."

"Hiashi," Sarutobi sighed. "What is it?"

"My daughter graduated."

"Congratulations." Sarutobi replied. He had a suspicion of why the man was here. He just wasn't certain of the direction Hiashi's request would go for.

"And the boy - Naruto, also graduated."

"Yes."

"I think it would benefit both him and my daughter to be on the same team."

"Oh," Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. "What about the Inuzuka and Aburame heirs? Didn't you have an understanding?"

"It has been taken care of."

"I see. Very well, Hiashi. I will take your request into account when the teams are formed."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama."

**-x-x-x-**

Sarutobi's secretary knocked at his door half an hour later.

"Yes?" the Hokage asked.

"Inoichi-sama is here to see you, Hokage-sama."

"Oh, send him in."

The Yamanaka clan head entered and bowed. "Hokage-sama."

"Inoichi," Sarutobi sighed. "Let me guess. Your daughter graduated?"

"Uh... yes, Hokage-sama."

"And?"

"I... well, my daughter would like to be in the same team with Uzumaki Naruto."

"Of course she does," Sarutobi said dryly.

Inoichi was silent for a few moments and the Hokage cleared his throat. "And what do you want me to do, Inoichi?"

"Well," he winced, "I uh... think she would do well if she were in the same team with Naruto."

"I think so too," Sarutobi said sincerely. "Now, do you want me to put her in the same team with Naruto?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"And I'll trust I won't hear about this from your teammates? You three had their team planned from before they were even conceived."

Inoichi's eyes widened in realization. "Hokage-sama, if you..."

"Absolutely not," Sarutobi interrupted.

"But I didn't even ask you my question."

"You were going to ask me to take the blame," Sarutobi deadpanned.

"Ah... well. Ino won't be too mad at you if you tell her you couldn't rearrange the teams."

"But Naruto will, and I see him as my grandson. I don't think I'll take the fall for you, Inoichi," the Hokage chuckled.

"Very well. Then I ask you to put Ino in the same team with Naruto, Hokage-sama."

**-x-x-x-**

Sarutobi's secretary knocked at his door half an hour later.

"Yes?" the Hokage sighed.

"Mitarashi-san is here to see you, Hokage-sama."

"Send her in."

The Special Jounin entered and waved. "Hey, old man."

"Anko," Sarutobi smiled. "Let me guess. Your cute little students graduated?"

"Yup."

"And you'd like for them to be in the same team?"

"Heh," Anko snorted. "Like that is going to happen. I know you can't do that. Hiashi and the Ino-Shika-Chou trio would have a fit if you did. And the Hyuuga wouldn't be too pleased either."

"Indeed," the Hokage deadpanned.

"Yeah," Anko grumbled. "I was just wondering on who their Jounin Instructors are going to be." Anko's face saddened. "You know, they are so excited about finally becoming genin that I couldn't tell them - that once they have a Jounin Instructor, I won't really be able to train them without his approval. With the exception of Kurenai and Ibiki, I don't really have other friends. The other Jounin don't like me."

"I think you're exaggerating a bit here, Anko." Sarutobi said kindly.

"Maybe," Anko shrugged. "But I'm not that far from the truth. I don't think that even those who don't hate me because of my ...former sensei, trust me. I hardly think they'd let me train them. Heh," the Special Jounin barked in fake amusement. "You know me and even you put restriction on what I was allowed to teach them... especially on the girls."

"Well, to be fair Anko, the first things you taught to Naruto were the exploding clone and the shadow kunai techniques."

"Sorry about that," Anko lied. "So is Kurenai going to be one of their Jounin Instructors?"

"I haven't formed the teams yet. Be patient, Anko.'

"All right."

**-x-x-x-**

Sarutobi heard a knock at the door. "Yes?"

"Uzumaki-san is here to see you," the secretary said.

The Hokage smiled a little bitterly. The old Naruto would have ignored the secretary and barged in. "Send him in," the old Kage said.

Naruto calmly stepped in the office, glanced around, and seeing that they were alone, he relaxed. "Hey old man," Naruto said cheerfully. The blond boy casually took off the blank white mask he was wearing and gave him a small wave.

Sarutobi smiled at the casual act. Nowadays, Naruto showed his face only to those he considered friends. "Hello Naruto. I understand congratulations are in order."

"Heh, with all that I learned this year, it was actually pretty easy," Naruto said with a trace of his old bravado.

The Hokage's mood soured at Naruto's words, though he showed no trace of the emotion. Sarutobi knew that Naruto's lack of training had somewhat chilled the boy's disposition toward Konoha. Kyuubi had opened Naruto's eyes. The Hokage still didn't know if it was a good thing or not. On the one hand, Naruto had people he loved and loved him back now. He was more skilled than some chuunin. He had grown past his childhood pranks and ignorance. The best thing though, was that while the boy was now far more mature and a better ninja, he had not lost his humanity. The smiles he now had were far more sincere. There was no trace of that painful bitterness. His friendship with Anko and the Hyuuga and Yamanaka heirs

was strong. And his bonds didn't stop with only them. Through Ino, he befriended the Nara and Akimichi heirs. He was also on somewhat friendly terms with the Aburame and Inuzuka heirs.

The other side of the coin was that he no longer had the burning desire to prove himself to the villagers. Sarutobi had been sure that in the end, the old naïve Naruto would have proven himself to the villagers. Now though, Naruto appeared to care little for the villagers' opinion. But in the end, perhaps this was better. If they can't love him, they can at least respect his skill and power. His peers though, the Hokage was certain, would come to see him as a true comrade.

Sarutobi returned to the present. "Yes Naruto, your skills have grown considerably. I am proud of how Anko trained you so far,"

"Does that mean you're going to keep her as my Jounin sensei?"

"Ah, I'm afraid that won't be possible." Sarutobi sighed.

"Yeah, I know," Naruto sighed unhappily. "Politics. And I guess Hinata, Ino and I won't be in the same team. The Hyuuga elders would pop a few blood vessels if the daemon brat gets placed in the same team as their heir... despite their dislike towards Hinata. Frankly, I'm amazed that they didn't say much to Hinata about her friendship with me.

Sarutobi couldn't help but smile at Naruto's words. If only you knew, Naruto, the old man thought. Hiashi must have put quite a bit of pressure to the main family if they didn't bother Hinata.

"And Ino," Naruto continued, "said she talked to her father about being placed on the same team with me." Naruto stared in Sarutobi's eyes. "Did he?"

"Yes, he did," the Hokage nodded.

"And?" Naruto asked.

"I'm sorry Naruto," Sarutobi chuckled. "You'll find out when your other classmates find out."

"Okay," Naruto sighed. "It would have been nice if we were in the same team though."

**-x-x-x-**

After Naruto left, Sarutobi sighed to himself. He would have preferred to put Naruto in Kakashi's team. The man was one of Konoha's best Jounin and the Fourth's student.

Unfortunately, the last Uchiha would have to be one of Kakashi's students.

If Hiashi, Inoichi and Naruto wanted for Naruto to be in the same team as Ino and Hinata, he had to put them in the same team.

Out of all of the Jounin who would take a genin team, Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai were the best to choose from. The other Jounin would be given the students who had few prospects as future ninja and would most likely, fail.

Kakashi was out of the question as a Jounin sensei because of Sasuke.

Asuma would have probably been the second best choice. The problem was though that he doubted his laid back son would be a good sensei for someone who trained like Naruto. Also, he doubted Asuma would allow Anko to keep training his team.

Kurenai though, would be the perfect sensei. She was also a friend with Anko, so the Special Jounin would probably be welcomed to help in the training. The only problem was that she wasn't as powerful as Kakashi or Asuma. She was however, the third strongest of all the Jounin sensei for the current batch of graduated Academy students. And thanks to Naruto, Hinata and Ino's training, she would not have to put so much effort in protecting her students as Kakashi and Asuma would need to put for their own teams. As a bonus, she had also specifically asked for Hinata to be one of her students. Like Kakashi and Asuma, she showed no dislike for Naruto, unlike many of his ninja.

Yes, Sarutobi nodded to himself. Kurenai is a good choice.

**-x-x-x-**

Mizuki smirked to himself as he grabbed the Forbidden Scroll.

It wasn't that hard, the man told himself.

In the end, this was better than his original plan to trick one of the new genin to get it. He had searched for a suitable patsy to steal the scroll for him, but he found none. Most of his students would have been unable to steal the scroll, and those who could, like the Aburame, Inuzuka, Nara, Uchiha, Hyuuga, Yamanaka and the daemon brat were unlikely to be tricked into doing it.

The silver haired traitor put the scroll over his back and went onto his escape route. He had fifteen minutes until the next scheduled patrol discovered the disabled security seals and sounded the alarm.

Mizuki snuck outside the tower without being seen.

He was sneaking through one of the more used alleys when two middle-aged civilian men entered it. Mizuki smirked to himself from the shadows. He had planned for this distraction, but he hadn't been sure if he would have the time to search for the proper targets. The two civilians would serve perfectly for his diversion.

The chuunin waited a few more seconds for the civilians to go deeper into the alley. Then, he cast a Genjutsu.

Mizuki stepped from the shadows in front of the two men. He waited for them to catch a good look at him. When he was certain that the civilians saw what he wanted them to see, he stepped forward and slammed a kunai in the heart of one of the civilians. His companion stared at his murdered friend for a second, and then opened his mouth to scream. A burst of killing intent froze the man. "Disgusting humans, I no longer have to hold back. Now die." Mizuki slammed another kunai in the chest of the second civilian. This time, the traitor was careful to hit a non-vital spot. "Rejoice, insect, for soon I shall end what I started. Konoha shall burn. I, Kyuubi no Yoko proclaim it." Mizuki slammed the man into a wall hard enough for him to lose his consciousness, but not hard enough to be endangered by the hit.

Mizuki wondered if he went over the top. No, he told himself. While what he did would sound unlikely to a reasonable and serious ninja, who had an above average intelligence, there were plenty of the other type of ninja. And even those who would think this was a set-up, would have to honor the threat.

**-x-x-x-**

A Naruko clone was serving a somewhat dejected Anko a double serving of dango. "Here you go, Anko-chan," the clone said with a cheerful smile, before turning her attention to Anko's companion. "Would you like anything else, Kurenai-san?"

"No, thank you," the Kunoichi answered. Kurenai waited for the waitress to leave before turning her attention at Anko. "This last year, you've been... happier," Kurenai said quietly, "But now... did something happen?"

"Not really," Anko sighed. "I'm not supposed to talk about it, but let's just say that I've been training ..." Anko searched for a term that would not disclose too much, "... a team."

"Hokage-sama allowed it?" Kurenai asked.

"Yes," Anko nodded, "but I can't really talk about it." The Special Jounin was about to take a bite from her favorite food, when a young chuunin rushed into the dango shop. "Every chuunin and Jounin is to report to the tower immediately," he said, before running out again.

Anko, Kurenai along with a few more ninja stood up and ran toward the Hokage Tower. When they arrived to their destination, there were already over fifty ninja, with more coming.

A few moments later, the Hokage appeared in front of them in a swirl of leaves. "The Forbidden Scroll has been stolen."

There were gasps among the ninja, but the Hokage continued to talk. We don't yet know..."

An ANBU appeared in a leaf Body Flicker before the old Kage and kneeled.

"Report," Sarutobi ordered.

"Two civilians were attacked, Hokage-sama. One of them was killed with a kunai through the heart, but the other received a non-vital wound and a slight concussion. The survivor gave us the description of his attacker. The civilian reported that his attacker was of small stature and wore ANBU-style clothes and had a white, blank, human-like mask. On his back, he had a large scroll. Also the witness said that the eyes behind the mask were blood-red and slited. Before stabbing the civilian, the attacker called itself... the Kyuubi no Yoko and swore he would burn Konoha."

Anko tensed and almost growled. Kurenai glanced at her in concern, but said nothing.

Sarutobi heard dangerous mutters among the ninja. He let out a burst of killing intent that silenced the ninja. "You will spread out and search for anything suspicious. The civilian was likely put under a Genjutsu to throw us off the track of the true thief."

"Hokage-sama," a Jounin protested. "We all know who it was."

"The daemon has awakened," someone else said.

"Silence," Sarutobi hissed. "I will have someone else follow this possibility, unlikely as it is. Anko, Kurenai, remain. The rest, spread out and do not concern yourselves with this Kyuubi story."

After the ninja left and only Anko and Kurenai remained, the two Kunoichi approached the Hokage.

"Anko, I want you to take Kurenai with you and go to Naruto's place. I want you to check that he's really there. If he is, protect him and bring him to the tower. If not, find him."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Anko said. "Uh... he has a clone nearby. Should I talk to it first?"

Kurenai raised a curious eyebrow at Anko's words, but said nothing.

"Yes," Sarutobi said. "Dismissed."

A mystified Kurenai followed Anko back to her favorite dango place. They entered, glanced around and Anko nodded at Naruko. The waitress nodded and went into the back of the shop.

Anko and Kurenai went outside, and went behind the building.

"What's happening?" the waitress asked.

Kurenai was glancing between Anko and the clone suspiciously, but she still kept quiet, trusting her friend.

"Someone stole the Forbidden Scroll," Anko said. "A civilian was killed and another survived. The survivor described his attacker... who apparently dressed like you. He also had slitted, blood-red eyes, called itself the Kyuubi no Yoko and threatened to burn the Village.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "I see."

"Did..." Anko begun.

"Of course not!" the waitress said.

"I believe you," Anko nodded. "The Hokage asked us to find Naruto and bring him to the tower. He told the ninja to not seek you specifically, and that he'll have us check on you, but you never know."

"Should he come now?"

"Yes," Anko nodded. "We'll meet you half way. The faster you're with the Hokage, the safer you'll be."

Naruko made a hand sigh and a clone of itself appeared without even a puff of smoke. "Anything else?" the new clone asked.

At Anko's shake of the head, the clone disappeared.

**-x-x-x-**

Naruto had just dismissed his training clones when one of his worker clones dispelled.

'This situation is dangerous,' Kyuubi said in his mind. 'Be careful. Konoha nin might be trying to kill us.'

'But I didn't do anything wrong. And you heard what the old man ordered.'

'Just because the Hokage said something, it doesn't mean that all of his ninja will obey. Do not tell me that you forgot that the Fourth wanted you to be seen as a hero. With the killing of a civilian, we are at risk. And if the thief is not caught, the suspicion you are under might linger.'

'Then, we'll catch him,' Naruto replied.

'Are you sure? It might be dangerous.'

'It will be safer, long term if we catch him.'

'Then I suggest you summon the trackers.'

Naruto nodded and bit his finger. "Summoning technique: Gray Hunt." A hundred gray small foxes appeared all around Naruto. These particular foxes had little to no combat power, but they were the best trackers of the fox summons.

"Someone stole a large scroll that contains Forbidden Techniques. The thief killed a civilian, wounded another and framed me for his crimes." Naruto created a hundred clones, who knelt and shape shifted into copies of the foxes. This would have been easier if I could change into birds and fly, Naruto thought.

'Well, you did master the change into a fox,' Kyuubi told her container. 'You can try birds next. It will be harder to learn to change into other things than foxes. The change into foxes was helped by my presence within you. Unfortunately, other shapes will be harder and you'll need to master these forms on your own.'

Naruto nodded and turned his attention back to the summoned foxes. "Find the thief."

The summons and the clone foxes paired and ran into the dark.

Naruto started tree hopping toward the Hokage Tower. A few minutes later however, one of his clones dispelled.

'Mizuki,' Naruto thought on the new memory he received. The chuunin was only a short distance away. 'Do we go after him, or do we wait for Anko?' Naruto wondered.

'I doubt we have anything to fear from Mizuki,' Kyuubi said. 'I'm more worried about ... loyal Konoha nin.'

Naruto created a few clones to continue forward and meet with Anko, while he turned toward Mizuki.

**-x-x-x-**

**Author's Notes**: It's been some time since I last updated. I'll try to do better with the next chapter.

-voider-

Published: January 7, 2011;


End file.
